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THE 

arly Settlers of Colrain, Mass. 



ome Account of ye Early Settlement of "Boston 
Township No. 2, alias Colrain," "adjoyning on 
ye north sid of Deerfield." 

AN ADDRESS 

'elivered before H. S. Greenleaf Post, No. 20, 
G. A. R., at Colrain, May 30, 1885, 



CHARLES H. McCLELLAN 



GKEKNUKI.D, MASS : 

\V. S. CARSON, PRINTER. 

I 8 8 5 ■ 



Cnpyrieht by C. H. McClellan, Greenfield, Mass . 1885. All Rights Reserved. 



^ 



c^* 



U 



fUS 



THE 

Early Settlers of Colrain, Mass, 



)ome Account of ye Early Settlement of "Boston 

Township No. 2, alias Colrain," "adjoyning on 

ye north sid of Deerfield." 

AN ADDRESS 

delivered before H. S, Greenleaf Post, No. 20, 
G. A. R., at Colrain, May 30, 1885, 



CHARLES H. McCLELLAN 



HO\f /s 1887' 



f^ 



GREENFIKI.D. MASS: 

\V- S. CARSON, PRINTER. 
,885. 



y^^ 



COPYRIGHT, 1885, 

BY 

C. H. McCLELLAN, (iRKEXFlELI), MASS. 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 



/^ 



H 



TO THE PUBLIC. 



It should be understood, that in putting forth the 
following brief pages, relating to the early times in my 
native town, I have not been impelled by any irresist- 
able impulse to contest for literary honors. 

Primarily, the purposes of their preparation arose 
from the belief, that as the older generation of 
inhabitants now living passed away, a knowledge of 
the facts relating to the times of their ancestors was 
becoming gradually obliterated; and from time to time 
I had collected much of the material, fact, anecdote, 
and legend, relating to those matters, trusting that those 
who should succeed me, especially my children, might 
at least to some extent profit by my efforts. 

A very kind and flattering invitation from H. S. 
Greenleaf Post, No 20, G. A. R., that I should address 
them upon this subject, on Decoration Day of the 
present year, led to their preparation in the present 
form, and the repeated requests of my (I fear) too 
partial friends, have resulted in their reluctant publi- 
cation. 

Perhaps, however, it is not too much to hope, that a 
possible local interest may attach to them in the town 
to which they relate, and as the descendants of Colrain 
are very largely in excess of the present residents it is 
doubtless not impossible that they may attain to a still 
more extended circulation. 

In what I have had to say, of the men of those times 
I have sought to 

"nothing extenuate 
Nor set down aught in mahce." 

But have desired that the sons should reverently 
recognize, what I esteem to have been the distingish- 



ing characteristics of their fathers, and that a just 
estimate be had of patient, unpretending, patriotic 
worth. 

In point of time, I have touched upon most of the 
important matters relating to the history of the town, 
down to nearly the close of the last century. To 
accomplish this, the accumulated dust of nearly a 
century and a half had to be brushed away, a task 
requiring no little patient toil; and that some other, 
possessing greater attainments as well as more leisure, 
shall sooner or later appear to complete this effort, 
is the sincere wish of 

The Author, 

Greenfield, Mass., September ist, 1885. 



ADDRESS. 

Mr. Commander, Comrades of the Grand Army, Ladies 
and Gentlemen : — I trust I need offer you no apology 
for the subject of this address. The people and the 
times of which it treats certainly require no apology. 
And to me its seems enimently proper, that on this 
Sabbath of Patriotism when all over our broad land, a 
grateful people do homage to heroic deeds, and re-en- 
shrine the memory of those, who though absent still 
speak from out the silence; that we should briefly 
review the story of that earlier generation of patriots, 
upon whose record we may well look back with pride. 
Early influences as well as my own inclination, have 
led me, ever, to greatly venerate the people who 
founded the institutions of this, my native town, and 
that up to the present time, no one of all their descend- 
ants, has in any adequate degree given utterance to the 
feeling of reverence and appreciation, of what they 
suffered and achieved, which is universally entertained, 
would seem to be in a measure inexplicable, and were it 
necessary, would constitute a proper vindication for 
what I have to say in their behalf. 

I cannot claim that what I have to offer is history, 
and yet I indulge the hope that it may be an aid to 
some future historian of the town, whoever he may be 
and whenever he may appear. 

It is the story of the wilderness and the log hut of 
the settler, and of young life commenced under far dif- 
ferent circumstances than are ours to-day. 

It is the story of earnest men and of brave, self 
reliant women, of hardship and privation, fhe cruel 



6 

savage and the dangerous beasts, the all surrounding 
forests sheltered; in a word it is the story of 

••Old trees, whose jjreat and everchanging forms 
Were shaped by nature in a hundred storms. 
Old rocks, the red man's altar and his grave. 
Old huts, the homes the early forest gave. 
Old stories, gathered now from silent lips. 
Old faces, lost in nature's last eclipse". 

It will be a century and a half in a few days, since 
the first events transpired looking to the settlement of 
the good old town of Col rain.* That its settlement 
should have been so long delayed, to me seems some- 
what remarkable. Deerfield, a neighboring and in fact 
an adjoining town, was at this time quite an elderly 
community, as also was Northfield, while Springfield 
had been settled nearly a century. Capt. Turner's 
fight with the Indians at Turners Falls had occurred 
nearly sixty years before, and the sacking of Deerfield 
long enough before to have been nearly forgotten, 
had events in those early days crowded as closely 
upon each other as they do in the times in which we 
live. I am aware that the "History of the Connecticut 
Valley" says that the Smith Brothers, Andrew and 
John, were in Colrain as early asi732, remaining some 
two years and returning again in 1736 to remain 
permanently. Now I have serious doubts of their 
being here as early as the first named date. That they 
were here very early, and probably earliest of any of 
the settlers, I have no doubt, but I hardly think they 



*It will be noticed, that throughout these pages I have adhered to 
the early mode of spelling the name of the town. Were excuse 
necessary it would be. that up to, and long after the times of which 
they treat, such was the early method, and the old residents, as I well 
remember, greatly protested against the additional letter in each 
syllable, as an unwarrantable innovation. 



7 

penetrated the wilderness of Boston township No. 2 
previous to its being granted to the town of Boston. 

From Aunt Roxy Smith, grand daughter of Andrew 
Smith, a very intelligent and w^ell preserved lady of 
eighty, now residing in East Charlemont I get some 
account of the advent of the Smith Brothers. She 
says, that her grand lather Andrew, and his brother, 
(but whether James or John she cannot tell, for he 
had these two and possibly three brothers, as there 
is a Robert Smith mentioned in connection in the 
earl}' records) came to Colrain on horseback from 
Holden, Mass., with their axes in their saddle bags, and 
that on their arrival in the wilderness, just over the 
line from Deerfield, (for as you all know Shelburne 
was then apart of Deerfield) on the farm now ow^ned 
by the Coombs Brothers, there was quite a strife be- 
tween them which should strike the first blow in the 
new township. That they did not remain long but 
went back to Holden, returning soon after and buying 
land to settle permanently. This is in accordance 
with my own idea. They were two young, adventur- 
ous men, unmarried, and looking out for some new 
territory in order ''to grow up with the country," and 
they came up into the wilderness on a prospecting 
tour having heard that a new township had been 
granted to the town of Boston, and was about to be 
opened up for settlement. fJut I do not think their 
visit was t arlier than 1735-6, and am confident it 
was not six 3-ears previous to Andrew's buying his 
first land in towm, which is the first recorded sale ot 
land in the township, to a settler, January loth, 1738. 

But however that might have been, it matters little, 
the forest did not change much 1 fancy during the 
time they were first here, and there probably w^as not 



8 

much of a market for the wood and timber they may 
have felled during the two or even six years they 
remained. The birch log in the spring which they are 
said to have placed is there today, and comparatively 
sound and permanent yet, as proof of at least a part 
of the story of their presence, but the first event of 
record looking to the settlement of the town occurred 
as I have intimated in June, 1735. 

On Friday, June 27, 1735, "on petition of the Select- 
men oftheTown of Boston, by order of the inhabitants 
of said town, setting forth the great charges the said 
town is at for the support of their poor and their free 
schools and that they pay near a fifth part of the 
Province tax, and praying for a grant of three or four 
tracts for townships to be settled and brought for- 
ward as the circumstances of the said town of Boston 
shall require, or upon such conditions and limitations 
as this court shall judge meet." In the House of 
Representatives read and in answer to this petition: 

Voted /^That there be and hereby is granted to the town 
of Boston, three tracts of land, each of the contents of 
six miles square and to be laid out in such suitable 
place or places in the unappropriated land of the 
Province for townships, by surveyor and chainman on 
oath, and to return plans thereof to this court for 
confirmation within twelve months. Provided, the 
town of Boston do within five years from the con- 
firmation of the said plans, settle on each of the said 
towns, sixty families of his Majesty's good subjects, 
inhabitants of this province, in as regular and defensi ble 
a manner as the lands will admit of; each of said sixty 
families to build and finish a dwelling house on his 
home lot of the following "dementions" viz. eighteen 
feet square and seven feet stud at the least, that each 



9 

of the said settlers within said town bring to and fit 
for improvement five acres of said home lot either by 
plowing, or for mowing by stocking the same well 
with English grass, and fence the same well in and 
actually live on the spot ; and also that they build and 
finish a suitable and convenient house for the public 
worship of God, and settle a learned Orthodox minister 
in each of the said towns, and provide for their honor- 
able and comfortable support, and also lay out three 
house lots in each of the said towns, each of which to 
draw a sixty-third of said town in all future divisions, 
one to be for the first settled minister, one for the 
ministry and one for the school. And in order that the 
conditions of this grant may the more eventually be 
"complyed" with, ordered that ElishaCook, Esq., Mr. 
Osenbridge Thatcher, Mr. Thomas Gushing Jr. and 
Mr. Timothy Prout, with such as the honorable 
board shall appoint, be a committe fully authorized 
to admit settlers, and to take of each settler a bond of 
twenty five pounds for the performance of the con- 
ditions so far as relate to their respective lots, which 
bond shall be made payable to the Province treasurer; 
and in case any of the lots in any of the townships 
hereby granted shall not be settled in time and 
manner as above provided, then such lot with the 
rights belonging thereto, shall revert to be at the dis- 
posal of the Government." 

In council read and "concurred andthat John Jeff"ries, 
Jacob Wendell and Samuel Wells, Esq., be joined in 
the affair." 

In pursuance of the above act, three town- 
ships were surveyed and are afterward known as 



10 

Boston townships No. i, 2 and 3. No. i was Charle- 
mont, No 2 Colrain and No 3 Pittsfield or Housatonuck 
as it was then called. A plan of Township No 2 was 
made by Nathaniel Kellogg, surveyor, and filed April 
10, 1736, in accordance with the conditions of the 
grant and was approved by the Governor and Council 
June 15, following. The description is as follows : 
Beginning at a chestnut tree in Deerfield, north 
bounds, from which we run west 1777 perch to a 
stake and stones; north 2075 perch to stake and 
stones, thence east 1777 perch to stake and stones, 
thence south 2075 perch to the fore mentioned 
chestnut tree. 

The terms of the grant, so far at least as they relate 
to township No. 2, were now complied with and the 
town of Boston was the owner and possesser of 
23040 acres of forest in this frontier wilderness. It 
should be remembered here that this tract did not 
cover the entire township as it is now and did not in- 
clude the Gore which was annexed in 1779. The east 
boundary of the old township commenced at Shelburne 
line on the Newell farm, now owned by Mr. Thomas 
Smead; running north it passed through Mr. Earl 
Shearer's house and just east of Mr. Joseph Bells,' 
striking Green river near Mr. E. D. Alexander's mill. 
It was the old story, and one hundred and fifty years 
have not changed the disposition of the town of Boston, 
in the least; she coveted a good big slice of the 
unappropriated lands of the province and set forth very 
plausible reasons for her greed, and as it has been 
ever since in the history of our state legislation she 
oot about all she asked for. 

A- '< lid, slie now owned the township, a pathless 



11 

forest tracked only by savages , and inhabited only 
by bears and wolves; no foot of which I fancy any 
inhabitant of the town of Boston had ever seen or 
cared to see, nor had any other whitemen, except 
the surveyor and chainmen, and possibly Andrew 
Smith and his brother. The town of Boston so far 
as I can discover-, never took any steps toward 
settling the town, they did not intend to, they had got 
it, and proposed to realize upon it as soon as possible. 
Under date of July 14, 1737, I tind a deed from John 
Jeffries, John Armitage, Daniel Colson, Alexander 
Forsyth, Caleb Lyman, Jonas Clark and Thomas 
Hutchinson, Jr., Selectmen of the town of Boston, in 
consideration of 1320 pounds in Province bills or as 
we now reckon $6,600, one third in hand paid and 
the rest secured, to be paid according to contract; to 
Joseph Heath of Roxbury, 23040 acres the bounds 
and discription being the same as those filed by the 
surveyor the year previous, and also binding him to 
the provisions contained in the grant, to the town of 
Boston; and on the same date Joseph Heath deeds to 
Joshua Winslow one third of his purchase and later 
(jershom Keyes, (both these last gentlemen being 
from Boston) acquires the other third, and both 
coming in on the same basis as Heath had paid for 
the whole tract. These men were now the proprietors 
of the town, and seem to have taken immediate steps 
toward its settlement, and I think showed very good 
judgment in the plans they pursued toward that end. 
They had evidently made a good bargain, and bought 
the tract cheap, and as the sequel shows must 
have made a large amount of money out of their 
transactions. Their main object now was to attract 



12 

settlers to this new territory and unload their wilder- 
ness. To this end they caused to be surveyed out 
sixty lots in the south east part of the tract, of fifty 
acres each. They made the lots small I think for 
two reasons, first they wished to bring them within 
the reach of men of small means as most of the 
settlers doubtless were, and also to make the settle- 
ment as compact as possible, thus making it more 
easily defensible against the Indians. These lots were 
t^o rods north and south and i6o rods east and west, 
and lay in three ranges, reserving land for roads five 
rods wide between the ranges. 

Ths first or east range, ran as far north as about 
where E. B. Stewart now lives, and the road between 
the first and second range ran just west of the. Handy 
place, where Mr, Conant now lives, and on north past 
Mr. H. A. Howard's. The second range was laid out 
as far north as about a half mile north of Mr. Milo 
Miller's, and the road between the second and third 
range ran just east of the Coombs Brothers' farm, 
across the Stebbins pasture, so called, and just on the 
west border of Mr. Wm. B. McGee's farm, striking the 
present road where it is now travelled, by the Sprague 
place, and following it a short distance, but bearing 
west up on the hill side, it passed west of the row of 
maple trees belonging to Mr. G. W. Miller and came 
out just in front of his house, and so on north past the 
site of the old meeting house, striking North River at 
the bend which enclosed the island, near the Dennison 
place. The third range was laid out about lOO rods 
further north than where the meeting house stood, and 
the lots ran 1 60 rods west of the road I have just defined. 
These were the sixty lots that were anticipated by the 



13 

terms of the grant and were numbered from one to 
sixty. Number one was the south lot in the first 
range, No. twenty-eight the south lot in the second 
range and No. forty-eight the south lot in the third 
range, although they are sometimes numbered differ- 
ently in the discriptions in deeds, yet this is evidently 
the way in which they were numbered by the pro- 
prietors at the first. There were also a few lots laid 
out in the fourth range, and also other lots sold early 
that were not located in these ranges and whose 
boundary lines bare no relation to any subsequent 
divisions of land in the township; such as the Clark, 
Miller, Fairservice and Wells tracts. The Hugh 
Morrison tract is intended to be an extension of the 
third range, but is not regularly so, as the lines vaiy 
considerably. These 60 lots then, might be said to have 
been the basis for the settlement of the township, laid 
out to accommodate the needs of actual settlers of 
limited means, and in order to render it even more 
advantageous. I find that there is conveyed in the 
deed for each of these 50 acre lots (the consideration 
for which, is in most cases one hundred pounds, in 
'current money of the province) the right to one hun- 
dred acres of undivided land in the north part of the 
town. It being, as the deeds rehearse, "one sixtieth of 
six thousand acres lying in equal "weadth" across the 
north part of the town" etc., so that the settler not 
only got his 50 acres, but the right to 100 acres more, 
which lots constituted what is known as second divi- 
sion lots, and which rights were held and sold by some 
of the settlers at least, even in advance of their 
actual settlement. The proprietors also bound 
the settlers in their deeds of the home lots, bv the 



14 

terms, substantially, of the original grant, and by 
which they were bound by the deed from the town of 
Boston. The early deeds, all or nearly all, containing . 
the condition that they shall settle upon their lots, and 
otherwise fulfill the terms of the grant previous to 
October 9, i 740. 

Such were the terms and inducements held out to 
settlers, and it would seem that they were not only 
wise but generous, and soon many adventurous and 
ambitious settlers from the older towns of Hamp- 
shire, and also Worcester and Middlesex counties, 
emigrated to the new township to partake in its 
opportunities and to enjoy what to them was not only 
a novel but a most grateful experience, the actual 
possession, after years of struggle and privation in fee 
simple of the land they cultivated and the roof that 
sheltered them, and their wives and little ones, Granted 
that it was a wilderness haunted by wild beasts and 
menaced by the savage Indians, but I tell you that 
Hugh Henry, Thomas McGee, Matthew Clark and ■ 
John Pennill, felt themselves to be kings and lords of 
all creation, for was not the land on which they trod 
their own, and no landlord, as in the land from which 
they had come, could dispute their right to the pos- 
session and improvement of it. Yes, little, as the pos- 
session of land may seem to us in this day, it meant 
a great deal to those early settlers at that time. 



SCOTCH-IRISH. 

Colrain was settled, as you are aware, by Scotch- 
Irish, and perhaps a brief account of who and what these 
people were may not be uninteresting. They were 



15 

mainly if not all of pure Scotch parentage, they or 
their immediate ancestors having emigrated from 
Scotland to the north of Ireland, on account of the 
inducements held out to them, to occupy and settle up- 
on land that had been wrested from rebellious Catholic 
subjects Their situation there was anything but 
pleasant, surrounded as they were by jealous neigh- 
bors, envious of their enjoyment of the land previous- 
ly possessed by themselves, they took every occasion, 
even resorting to violence, to make their stay unhappy 
and to render desirable, emigration to some more 
congenial, if not so fertile a clime. They emigrated 
many of them frolii the Province of Ulster, from the 
towns about Londonderry and Colrain. They were 
and their descendants still are, "a peculiar people" 
of that blood of which it is said that "it will tell" 
wherever it is found. 

They were intensely Protestant and generally 
Presbyterians and next to the devil they abominated 
a King. I have no doubt that some of them, or if 
not, their fathers and mothers, were present at the 
seige of Londonderry in 1688, the account of which is 
a sad tale of privation and suffering; indeed, there 
is mentioned in the history of that eventful seige, the 
doings of a youth named James Stewart and I have 
little doubt but that it was the same James Stewart 
who afterward settled in Colrain. In that terrible seige 
they defended the city until they had slain nine thou- 
sand of the beseiging army and until three thousand 
of their own number had fallen, and to such a state of 
starvation had they becon:k€ reduced that a quarter of 
a dog was sold for five shillings and sixpence, horse- 
flesh was worth one shilling and sixpence a pound, a 
rat one shilling and a mouse sixpence; and it is re- 



16 

lated of an uncle of Hugh Morrison that having 
watched all day at a hole in the walls, in hope to 
capture a mouse that he might appease his hunger, 
the creature escaping into the wall at last, he burst 
into tears, realizing that his ho]^es of dining off that 
savory morsel had been defeated. Think you that 
after these experiences, a wilderness such as was 
this to which they came, infested by savages as it was, 
had any terrors for them ? 

They were brave, honest and God-fearing men, 
•'Stony and unapproachable in their pieties" 

but possessed of a warmth and tenderness of heart, 
that you and I have felt and seen in their immediate 
descendants and which was strangly in contrast with 
their appearance and manner. They are said to have 
introduced the culture and spinning of flax, as well 
as the culture of the potatoe, into New England. 
They were frugal and economical and it is said 
that they were accustomed to walk barefoot to church; 
carrying their shoes and stockings in their hands, 
stopping when nearly there to put them on, and ap- 
pearing at church fully dressed, and this has been 
told to me by their descendants whom I have known, 
now dead and gone. Borrowing and lending were 
very common among them, and buying and selling 
rare. If a pig or other creature was killed for home 
consumption, much of it was lent out to be repaid in 
kind in the future. All or nearly all of their subsis- 
tence, as well as the material for the clothing they 
wore was raised on their litttle farms, by their own 
care and toil; the delicacies and luxuries of life were 
not to be thought of, or if within their reach, the in- 
dulgence in them, would have been considered by 
those stern men and women from whom we sprang, 



17 

hardly less then sinful, and from what I have come 
to know of them and their descendants, I am fully 
prepared to believe, that next to the disgrace of being 
publicly admonished by the tythingman, they 
estimated that of "being out of pork." 

Superstitious they were, which is not strange in 
view of their surroundings; deeply religious, the 
Bible was their book of Books, and a thorough 
knowledge of the Westminster Assembly's shorter 
Catechism was imperative upon old and young alike. 

Here they lived as brethren and neighbors, indus- 
trious and hard working people, quick to assist each 
other in trouble, and to care for each other in sick- 
ness and distress. And it is also a peculiar fact that 
the early settlers, who became permanent settlers of 
this town, very many of them were connected by the 
ties of blood relationship; they felt and cared for 
each other, and their descendants of the generations 
following were hardly less attached; and may God 
far remove the day, when that heartfelt attachment 
to our Kith and Kin, that remnant of old Scotch 
clannishness which we have inherited from our 
ancestors, and the inspiration of which we have 
drawn from our mothers, breasts, shall have ceased to 
exist amongst us. 

Such as these were the people who began to 
subdue those forests, aud cultivate these hillsides 
and valleys nearly one hundred and fifty years ago. 

As I have said, the first recorded deed of land in 
this town, that I am able to discover, is of lot Number 
50, or the third lot from the south end of the third 
range, to Andrew Smith, dated January 10, 1738. 
This is the first lot north of the Coombs Brothers' 
farm, on what is known as the Stebbins pasture. 



18 

During that winter quite a number of lots were deeded 
by the proprietors to settlers. James Smith bought lot 
No. 49, February 9, and John McCalester No. 48, 
probably about the same time, McCalester selling 
his lot to Smith the next year, and moving back I 
think to Pelham. James Brakenridge, and his son 
James Jr., from Kingstown, now Palmer, bought lots 5 1 
and 52 during the year. John Pennell lots 57 and 58, 
settling I am confident where Mr. Aaron Lyons 
formerly lived, and where he built and kept the first 
public house in town, and which many years after he 
sold together with the east half of his two lots to 
John Wood. It was probably to this house that 
John Newman, the giant in courage but pigmy in 
size, brought the catamount he had killed with a club, 
of which the story is so often told. During this year 
Lieut. John Clark, Senior, of Worcester or Rutland, 
with several of his sons bought numerous lots ; many 
of their deeds being dated February 9, 1738. John 
Jr., seems to have settled on lot No. 7, and his 
Brother Matthew on No. 8, both in first range. No. 7 
being the lot where Mr. Copeland lives at present 
and No. 8 the next north. The home of the father, 
(John Senior,) during the time he resided here, seems 
to have been on lot 38, and which he willed at his 
death, about 1750, to his son Deacon George. Samuel, 
another son, seems to have settled on lot jNo. 28, the 
south lot in second range, William on No. 32, Aaron 
Denio on No. 31, and James Clark bought lot No. 56 
June 17, 1740, and I am confident settled upon it and 
he also, about this time acquired No. 55. James 
Barry was at this time owner of lot 59, and John 
Smith of No. 24, who about two years later, bought 
No. ^^ and lived there. This lot in 1748 came into 



19 

the possession of the Stewarts, who lived on it fifty 
years or more, and from them to Deacon Jonathan 
McGee, and from him to Mr. William B. McGee, its 
present owner and is the lot on which he now lives. 
Hugh Morrison and his son David bought land in 
town in the summer of 1739^ David buying the two 
south lots of what is known as the Morrison tract, 
and his father the three lots next north, and also lot 
No. 46 in the second range, but it was not till 
nine years later, that he bought the north lot of 
that tract, which was the home lot of John Henry 
Senior, (afterward known as the McCullock place, 
where Ansel McClellan lately lived,) and where 
he (Henry) had settled, probably about the same time 
as did the Morrisons his neighbors on the south. 
Hugh Henry was owner of lot No, 34, (where Mrs 
Levi Sprague now lives) in June 1740, though 
I am unable to give the exact date of the deed, and 
in June 1741, Deacon Alexander Herroun bought 
lots 62 and 61, in the fourth range, (what is now the 
Roberts farm) where he settled, and where the family 
continued to live for nearly sixty years. 

Dr. Hugh Bolton became the owner of lots 18 and 
19, August, 14, 1741, and they seem to have remained 
in the possession of the family till 1777. 

Thomas McGee and James Stewart, Sen., bought 
lot 53, in March, 1742, and soon after Stewart bought 
32; Deacon McGee remaining, and settling upon 53, 
the same lot where his great great tjrandson, 
Clarence McGee now lives, an unbroken possession 
by persons of the name for 143 3'ears, a rare instance 
of successive ownership and almost the only instance 
I am aware of in the history of the town. Thus 
much regarding where they settled; did time permit, 



20 

It would be pleasant to follow out this branch of the 
subject farther, as I have not by any means ex- 
hausted the data I have collected relating to it, but 
shall have to refer you to the map* which contains 
still further information, though farther on, I may 
have occasion to refer again to individual settlers, 
and where they lived. 

We have now arrived at the early part of the 
year 1742, there are quite a number of families 
living here in the woods; the meeting house is 
built, or partially so, and probably the south 
fort, and now we come to the first concerted action 
of the settlers. 

FIRST TOWN MEETING. 

Up to this time they had got along as best 
they might by means of mutual agreements and 
concessions, but now the time had arrived when 
it seemed best that the duty of caring for the public 
interests of the settlement, should be delegated to 
certain specific persons; and accordingly a petition is 
prepared addressed <to Thomas Wells, Esq. of Deerfield, 
one of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace, for authority 
to hold the first town meeting or rather , settlers 
meeting. It seems a matter of regret that the original 
warrant for this first settlers' meeting, should be in 
the possession of anyone but the Clerk of the town, 
but such is the case. It is in the possession of 
Mr. Charles M. Taintor of North Manchester, Conn., 
a former resident of Shelburne, Mass., he having been 
permitted by a former Town Clerk^ to carry it away, 



* The map referred to, is an enlarged plan of the first settled part 
of the town, giving the name of the settler and date of occupancy, of 
most of the lots. 



21 

with other old papers, some of which I should doubt- 
less desired to have consulted, in the preparation of 
this address. I have had some correspondence with 
him, but he seemed loth to let the old warrant come 
this way. It has however been published once or 
more in the Gazette and Courier. 

Its phraseology is so quaint and peculiar that 
I give it here. 

HAMPSHIRE S. S. 
To Andrew Smith, one of the "prinsapel" inhabitants or settlers under 

Joseph Heath of Roxbury, and Joshua Winslow, Esq., and Mr. 

Gershom Keyes, both of Boston, the proprietors of No. 2 ad- 

joyning on the north side of Deerfield : Greeting. 

Whereas, appUcation has been made to me the subscriber, one 
of his Majesty's Justices of the peace, for the county of Hampshire, 
by Andrew Smith, John Clark, James Barry, Alexander Harroun, 
"■Eliksander" Clark, John Pennel, Samuel Clark, Matthew Clark, 
Hugh Henry, John Henderson, John Henry, James Clark, - 
William Clark, Thomas "Cockran," and Robert Hunter, all 
proprietors in the above said land. ist. To "chuse" a moderator. 
2nd. Proprietors "Clark." 3rd. A Committee to manage affairs for 
the settlement. 4th. To see if they will raise money for the times 
past, and for the present year, and "chuse" a committee to provide 
"■preching" and all other officers as shall be thought to be needful. 
6th. To consider all former acts and fit them to be put upon record. 
7th. To see what they will do "consarning" a ministers' lot. 8th. 
To have all former Treasurers and Collectors to bring in their 
accounts. 9th. To see what "incouragement" they will give toward 
building a grist mill, if any man will appear to do the same. loth. 
To see if they will buy a law book for the benefit of the settlers, 
nth. To conclude on a method to call meetings for the "futer." 
These are therefore in his majesty's name, to will and require you to 
notify and warn the aforesaid proprietors, that they '"assembel" them- 
selves at the "Hous" of "Hew Heinry," upon Wednesday, the tenth 
day of February next, at nine of the clock in the forenoon, then 
and ''thare" to act and transact in the affairs above mentioned. 
This notification must be set up fourteen days before the meeting 
and have you this warrant with your doings thereon. Hereof fail 
not. Given under my hand and seal, this 27th day of January, 



22 

Anno Domini 1 741- - and in the 14th year of his majesty's King 
George the 2nd, Reign. 

Thomas Wells. 

This meeting was accordingly held, at the house of 
Hugh Henry, and where that stood I will endeavor 
to make appear before I close. Hugh Henry was 
elected moderator, Andrew Smith, Settlers' Clerk^ 
v' Thomas Cochran, Hugh Henry, John Pennell, Alex- 
ander Harrmoun and Andrew Smith, Selectmen, or as 
they were called a "committee to manage the affairs 
of the town" and also other officers for various 
purposes. The records of this and the subsequent 
meetings of the settlers, show the sensible and 
straight forward methods of our ancestors in the trans- 
actions of public business. They were clear-headed 
old Scotchmen, knowing what they wanted to do 
and going directly to the doing of it The advantages 
for education had been mainly denied them, and 
were we disposed to be critical, we might, to quote a 
slang-word, say that they were a little "off" in some of 
their spelling; but in view of the many phonetic 
attempts in that art, at this day, I am inclined to give 
them credit for being a century or more in advance of 
their age. 

It seems to have required quite a number of meet- 
ings to get the young settlement fairly started in its 
career, and numerous meetings and adjournments 
were held during this and the following year, the rec- 
ord of which is exceedingly interesting to anyone who 
has a taste for matters so venerable. 

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

But we must leave the consideration of these old- 
time stories as shown in the records, at least for the pres- 



23 

ent, for now there burst upon the infant settlement the 
dark and bloody struggle of the old French and Indian 
war, a struggle so cruel and long continuous, as to well 
nigh threaten to entirely wipe out this feeble frontier 
settlement. As I have said, the South Fort was prob- 
ably built previous to this time, and perhaps Fort Lu- 
cas. The former stood on lot No. 51, on the east 
slope of what is called the Stebbins pasture, northwest 
of where Mr. Joel Cone now lives, and a few rods 
west of the line of the old south road; the site of it 
being perfectly apparent to-day. The latter stood where 
Mr. Henry A. Howard's barn now stands, on the 
lot that was afterward owned, but I doubt if it was at 
this time, by Andrew Lucas. They were doubtless 
log houses, probably two stories high with the upper 
story projecting, with port-holes arranged to command 
every direction, and here the settler with his long- 
barreled fiint locked gun, and his wife with her kettles 
of hot water, that ever ready weapon of our grand- 
mothers against Indians, and of their grand-daughters 
against tramps, gave their copper colored foe a very 
warm reception. These forts were built, I take it, by 
the adjacent settlers, for mutual protection. The name 
of Thomas Morris has always been connected with 
South Fort, and I am inclined to think that Fort Lucas 
is the same that is mentioned in the records as "Lieut. 
John Clark's fort," and that standing as it did near his 
home lot, (No. 38 where Charles Snow now lives) he 
might have been prominently engaged in its erection. 
On November 11, 1743, a grant of 100 pounds each, 
was made by the General Court, to Falltown, Colrain, 
and several other towns mentioned, for the purpose of 
fortifying the frontier, and a committee was appointed, 
"to lay out and erect in the most prudent manner, in 



24 

each of the before named settlements, for their secur- 
ity during the war, a garrison or garrisons of stockades> 
or of square timbers, round some dwelling house or 
houses as will be most for the security and defence 
of the whole inhabitants of each place," etc. As a result 
of this, Fort Morrison was built, one of a cordon of 
forts, stretching across the northern frontier of the 
province, to prevent invasion from that direction. This 
fort undoubtedly stood where Mr. Samuel C. Avery's 
house now stands, well to the north end of what is 
know as the Morrison tract. It was larger, and 
more pretentions than the others, built with logs, but 
having a stockade, and I presume a mount or lookout 
from which the adjacent country might be reconnoiter- 
ed for signs of savages. France declared war against 
England, March 15, 1744, and having granted a 
bounty on scalps to her savage allies, turned them loose 
upon the settlers; making their very existence, for 
nearly five years following, almost uninterruptedly, a 
source of direst terror and apprehension. Among the rec- 
ords in Boston, I find a muster roll of the men posted at 
Colrain, in 1747, under command of Lieut. Daniel 
Severance of Northfield,43 in all, divided up between 
the three forts; and among them I find the names of 
John and Archibald Fennel, AndrewLucas, Hugh, John 
and Robert Morrison, James Stewart, John Mills, 
John Henry, Robert Fulton, Alexander Herroun, 
Alexander Clark, Thomas McGee, John McCrellis 
and Thomas Morris. The following summer a 
Sergeant and 24 men, were stationed at Fort 
Morrison, and a sergeant and 15 men at South Fort, 
the names of the men being with hardly an excep- 
tion the same as the year previous. 



25 

John Mills* of the garrison at South Fort was 
killed June 22nd, of this year as appears by the 
record. The treaty of Aix la Chapelle, October 7, 
1748, was supposed to mark the close of the war. 
still matters were hardly tranquil for I find that from 
November ist, of that year until the next April, 
Hugh Morrison, Andrew Lucas, John Pennel, James 
Stewart, Deacon Thomas McGee, Deacon Herroun^ 
John McCrellis, John Henry and others, were still 
fighting Indians in Colrain, while Daniel Donelson 
was at Fort Shirley (in Heath,) and William 
Stevens was at Fort Pelham (in Rowe,) which argues 
that the wily savage was still abroad, crafty and 
murderous as ever, or else, which was possible in 
this case, these brave old fighters were following 
him from sheer force of habit. The peace of which 
we have spoken was of short duration. On account 
of difficulties at the west in 1754 or 55, the war with 
all its horrors, again broke out upon them. From 
August, 1754, to March, 1755, the towns of Colrain 
and Charlemont were garrisoned with 32 men under 
Captain Isreal Williams, with John Hawks as 
Lieutenant, and during the latter part of this year 
a garrison of 24 men was maintained here, and I find 
the record of another company under Isreal Williams, 
from October 18, 1756, to July 23, 1757, are "scouting 
westward," nearly the same names still appearing; 
also still another, from December 11, 1757, to April 14, 
1758, bearing the names of John Hulburt, Joseph 
McKowen, John Cochran, John Henry, Abraham 

*John Mills lived on lot 39 where Mr. Michael Johnson now lives. 
His widow Margaret afterward became the wife of Robert Fulton, 
who first settled on lot 36 and afterward owned much of the land on 
which the present village (city) now stands. 



26 



Peck, John Morrison, and other veterans showing that 
the settlers were still on the alert, and that "eternal 
vigilance" was the price of safety at that time. The 
two years succeeding, however, seemed to have 
bettered matters. January 21, 1758, it is ordered, 
that the garrison at Colrain "shall consist of 1 2 men 
and no more." The following year (1759) with the 
victory of General Wolfe at Quebec, and the surrender 
of Canada to the English, the war cloud lifted, and 
their savage enemies troubled the settlers no more. 
During this fearful time which we have described, 
many a brave settler lost his life, while defending his 
home and dear ones, and others including several 
women, mysteriously disappeared and were never seen 
or heard of again. 

In May, 1 746, Matthew Clark was killed by the In- 
dians while endeavoring with his wife and daughter to 
reach Fort Lucas; the Indians pressing him hard, he 
endeavored to secrete himself under a log bridge 
over the run just west of where Uncle Thomas Brown 
now lives, and the Indians discovering him shot him. 
The wife and daughter, who seem to have been on 
horseback, reached the Fort, though not without being 
wounded, the latter with a bullet in her thigh, which 
she is said to have carried to her grave. This story is 
told in the "History of the Connecticut Valley" as 
being of the wife of Andrew Smith, which is correct 
in part. The young lady was Jane Clark, and after- 
ward became the wife of Andrew Smith, and the 
mother of a large family. And it is a strange con- 
firmation I find of this story, in the record of the settle- 
ment of the estate of this Matthew Clark, of which his 
widow, Jennet was appointed administratrix, December 



27 

11,1 746. Among the debts rendered against the estate 
are the bills of Dr. Hugh Bolton and Dr. Thomas Wells 
of Deerfield, "to attendance upon Widow Clark and 
daughter when wounded with the Indians", two 
pounds ten shillings, and four pounds and eleven 
shillings, respectively. 

During this same year, (1746,) David, son of 
Captain Hngh Morrison, disappeared, and no tidings 
seem ever afterward to have been had of him. He 
was a young man, probably 25 to 28 years old or 
thereabout, he went out a short distance from the 
house or fort to shoot a hawk, the Indians surprised 
and captured him; it being impossible to pursue and 
overtake them in time to accomplish his rescue. 

Near the old Indian Spring, 100 rods or more east 
of Mr. Benjamin Miller's, and the locality of which 
every school boy in the old south district knows, 
John Stewart (grandfather of Mr. Luther Stewart, 
whom you all know,) very neatly dispatched an 
Indian. Stewart had been hunting for a stray cow, 
and the Indian had found the cow, or if not, had 
found the bell which the cow had worn, and was 
occupying himself, in alternately ringing the bell 
and picking his flint, hoping, as it would appear, by 
the sound of the bell, to lure some unwary settler 
to his death. Stewart heard the bell, and his every 
sense being in those critical times fully alive to any 
signs of Indian deviltry, he imagined it did not ring 
just as it should, so taking to the bush he soon dis- 
covered the Indian and what he was up to, and 
killed him before he was aware. 

In 1747, Mrs. Anderson, the wife of John Anderson 



28 

and great grandmother of Mrs. Luther Stewart, now- 
living, was carried away by the Indians, at least her 
disappearance could only be accounted for in that 
way; she lived with her husband and family on lot 
No. lo, in the first range. She left the house one 
afternoon and went across the brook, east of the 
house, (the same as runs now, just west of Mr. 
Albert Nelson's house, and so on north,) to go to a 
cooper's shop and no trace of her was afterward dis- 
covered. Very many similar anecdotes I could relate 
ofoino- to show the terrible dangers which menaced 
the settlers, and the heart rending scenes and 
experiences which marked these years; but I will 
only give space to one other, and that relating to the 
exploits of John Henry, and John Morrison, a story 
which many of you have doubtless heard. Signs of 
Indians having been discovered near Fort Morrison, 
it was thought best to notify the settlers at the other 
forts; accordingly John Henr}' and John Morrison 
started out. The Indians pursued and fired upon 
them breaking Morrison's arm, but these intrepid 
men pressed on, and capturing a wild unbroken colt 
in the field, as they went, Henr}^ held it, while he 
assisted Morrison to mount, and getting on himself, 
without a bit or bridle, he guided the colt across the 
river (probably at the old Nye ford,) and up over the 
hill to Fort L.ucas. 

The Indians are said to have known and recognized 
the men they were pursuing and avenged themselves 
by returning and burning Morrison's barn, and killing 
his cattle; the only instance of the kind that occurred 
during these times as I am aware; it seeming to be 



29 

human lives and scalps the savages desired and not 
the destruction of property. 



HIGHWAYS. 

Let us now q^o back to the first town meetins 
and consider briefly some of the matters which 
claimed the settlers' attention at this time, and 
among the first seems to have been the important 
one of Highways. As I have said, land had 
been reserved, in the surveying of the settlers' 
lots, for roads five rods wide between the rano;es, 
and also for those of less width, at certain 
intervals, between the lots. But these as yet existed 
only on the surveyor's plan, and were not destined 
for many years yet to become what might be called 
dignified highways. The most that could be expected 
for the present, was the cutting down and removal of 
intervening trees for a safe passage on horseback, for 
as you know, the turnpike, and travel by carriage, 
were ma,tters of the future, and the road scraper of 
our day was destined to come a little in advance of 
the telephone; the prediction of either of which would 
have fearfully startled those Scotch-Irishmen here in 
the woods, in i 742, and would have been valid ground 
for arresting the perpetrator of such a prediction, as 
being in league with witches. Still the means for inter- 
communication must be improved and accordingly 
three highway surveyors are elected; John Henry, of 
the North River road, John Clark, of the East Road, 
and William Clark, of the south road. The first of these 
is the same that is mentioned as being accepted 
by the town July ist of this year, "the 'rod' that goes 



30 

from the meeting house to the "furder sid" of John 
Henry's lot." This road must have been a terrible 
one to travel, as those of you who are familiar with 
the country between the old meeting house place and 
the old Nye ford are well aware; yet it was probably 
a much travelled road for twenty years or longer... 
The south road ran from the meeting house directly 
south, striking Deertield line just east of the Coombs' 
Bros' farm. The east road, ran from the south road, 
east between lots 33 and 34 (or just at the north end 
of Mr. William B. McGee's farm) and over the hill 
past Mr Copeland s (or as it wasthen John Clark Jr.'s) 
to the east line of the town, where it connected with a 
road leading on down to Green River. This was 
undoubtedly the first road leading into town and was 
the one they travelled for many years in going to and 
from Deerfield. The town also, at this meeting 
accepted a road "from the west end of the third 
range to the 'Sammon hole'. This at once implies 
that salmon then came up North River and from the 
several references in the old records to it, I judge that 
the ''Sammon hole," was not far from the locality 
of the present "City," and was probably the deep 
water a short distance north of the bridge. From 
the records, I judge that the north road was changed 
about 1759, to run further west through lot 59, 
intersecting with the road to the "Sammon Hole," 
which I imagine had been found easier to travel, 
and so striking the river about where the present 
bridge now stands, which road was long used and 
has been often travelled by many of the older genera- 
tion of inhabitants now residing here. The road be- 
tween lots 31 and 32 and which many of you have 
known by the name of the Handy lane, was laid out 



31 

very early, I think about 1743 or 44; and that to 
Thomas Fox's March 3, 1765, and was probably the 
first road laid out and accepted by the town, Running 
in that direction, and the agitation of the subject of 
building a bridge over North River (a kindred sub- 
ject and one the town has since had her fill of) was 
commenced about 1766, though the bridge does 
not seem to have been built until two years later. I 
will detain you no longer on this subject, than to add 
an account of the building of a bridge across North 
River in 1789, by one Henry Henderson as it appears 
in the records. A meeting was held April 6, 1789, 
and a committee chosen to "treat" with Mr. Hender- 
son regarding the building of the bridge. Their report 
under date of May 11, of that year, embodies the 
proposition of Henderson regarding the matter, and 
is as follows: "To the Gentlemen, Selectmen of Col- 
rain and other inhabitants concerned, would inform 
you that Deacon Riddle and James McCoUuck hath 
been talking with me respecting building a bridge 
over the river known by the name of North River, 
just below Abraham Avery's (probably near Elm 
Grove) in said town, and I have agreed with the above 
named men to build the frame of a bridge over said 
river, and maintain said frame seven years from the 
completing of said bridge, and that on special con- 
dition that the said Selectmen above mentioned, pay 
me fifteen pounds lawful money's worth; one barrel 
of New Rum by the 15th day of June next, as cheap 
as it can be bought in Greenfield, by the barrel, and 
the remainder of said fifteen pounds to be paid in 
grain or suitable neat stock, at the completing of 
said frame ; and as I have a subscription paper which 
will be void if said bridge is not planked and passable 



32 

by the first day of November; therefore must have 
the inhabitants of Colrain bound on their part to 
plank said bridge by the time above mentioned. This 
from your friend, Henry Henderson." 

Halifax, May 8, 1789. 

The town voted to build the bridge, and chose 
Oren Smith, William Stewart, and Jonathan McGee, 
a committee to give and take bonds of Henderson. 
I have introduced this to show the bridge builders 
here of the present day, what the motive power was 
that built bridges 100 years ago, and that it would 
seem that the New Rum was a more important part of 
the remuneration than neat stock. I trust it staid in 
its place after it was built, at least during the term 
the contract required; though it would seem from the 
quantity of ^'stimulant" that Henderson was getting 
near, that it was in imminent danger of being floated 
down stream before the frame was even raised. 



SCHOOLS. 

The opportunities for gaining an education were 
very meager indeed, in those early times, and the ac- 
complishments of the "three R's" were not by any 
means a universal possession. With cutting down for- 
ests, burning over and subduing the new country, 
clothing the bodies, and filling the mouths of the hun- 
gry little ones ; for it needs not to be pointed out here, 
that our fathers and mothers of that day, for all the 
dangers which surrounded them, and the hard struggle 
to even exist which was necessary, they never failed to 
have a goodly quota of little ones about them. And 
how those little eighteen feet square log houses, held 



33 

the eight, ten, twelve, and even up to near a score, of 
children of one family; and this not by any means an 
exception either, seems almost a marvel to us in this 
day. But such was the case, and with the additional 
diversion (?) of fighting Indians; with an occasional 
breaking up and going to the fort for a longer or 
shorter stay; it is not strange that little attention was 
paid to the matter of schools. It was not till March 
5' 1 753 5 ^^^t it was voted, "That the town will 
have a school this year," and Hugh Morrison, John 
McCrellis and others entered their protest against 
having the school master or mistress paid by the lots, 
but by the scholars that go to the school; implying I 
think, at least in the case of Hugh Morrison, that he 
had at this time more 50 acre lots, perhaps, than he 
had children that were not grown up. 

Previous to this, and during and after this time, 
schools were kept at the houses of some of the 
settlers; such a school was probably kept at the house 
of Lieutenant James Stewart, who was one of the 
earliest teachers, especially in the art of writing; and 
who lived where Mr William B. McGee now lives; 
a convenient center for the settlement about the south 
fort. About 1770 three school districts, or squadrons 
as they were called, were laid out, called the south 
side, north side, and north river; and the school 
houses were appointed to be built, one "near the 
south west corner of James Stewart's lot," one '''on 
Robert Riddle's lot," and one "on the river above 
*John Clark's," or just above where Martin Brown 



*That no confusion may arise, regarding the persons of t'lis name 
I have mentioned, let me say that Lieut. John Clark (Senior) settled 
where Charles Snow now lives, on lot No. 38 ; his son, John Jr., on 



34 

now lives. A school also was *held at Lieutenant 
Hezekiah Smith's, and in one or two other places. I 
do not think, however, that these school houses were 
built previous to the Revolutionary War. A school 
house was built, probably about 1774 or 5, which 
stood as the records say, "at the bottom of the hill 
south of the meeting house,"or just at the east side 
of the present road as it reaches the top of the 
mountain, which was for some years, certainly I think 
till after the war of the Revolution was over, the 
only school house in town; which if it was the case, 
and I am confident it was, with the large township, 
six miles square, with settlers at this time scattered 
nearly all over it; those on the west side of north 
river and on Christian hill, must have had to take 
their schooling, as they were beginning to think they 
were taking their preaching, rather at arms length, 
still, they were undoubtedly accomodated with neigh- 
borhood schools nearer their homes. Here, in this first 
logschool house, my grandfather, Michael McClellan, 
has told me, that he and his brothers and sisters went 
to school. Here he, and many of the boys and girls 
of that day, received all their mental training, to fit 
them for the positions of honor and trust which they 
afterward filled, and filled too with great credit. One 
thing those first schools did not lack, and that was 
scholars; indeed it has been told me that in the days 
not long after this, one hundred scholars was not an 
unusual number in the old south school house; where 



lot No. 7, where Mr. Copeland lives ; and the one mentioned here 
was the oldest son of Matthew Clark, who was killed by the Indians 
in 1 746 ; a grandson of Lieut. John, and father of Daniel Clark, whom 
many of those now living, remember. 



35 

there are to-day about five or six, all told. The 
appliances for training the youth have certainly im- 
proved, but the question in the near future, would 
seem to be, concerning the whereabout of the youth 
to be trained. After the close of the Revolutionary 
War, many school ''Squadrons'' were established, 
and school houses built, the records disclosing con- 
siderable trouble, in some districts in fixing the 
boundary lines; and a familiarity with the numbers of 
the various districts throughout the town will I think 
disclose to you their relative age and priority of 
establishment. 



CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

As I have said, our fore-fathers were deeply 
religious men, staunch Presbyterians and strongly 
attached to the faith in which they were brought up; 
and on account of which many of them had in the 
time gone by, suffered persecution; thus around the 
old church and society, there clusters so much that is 
of interest, that a brief account of it would seem to be 
eminently proper and will I trust possess some 
interest to you. 

By the terms of the first grant a meeting house 
must be built "for the public worship of God,'' and 
I have no doubt that the building was commenced the 
year the first settlers arrived, probably in the summer 
of 1738. It stood, as you doubtless know, on the 
top of one of the highest hills in town, just west 
of the old burying ground. The map indicates that 
it stood on lot 39, but this is evidently an error, as it 
stood, unmistakably, on lot 38. It was probabl}' not 



36 

nearly as large as the house on north river, which 
succeeded it, but was a frame building, the timbers 
being doubtless from twelve to sixteen inches square, 
readily procured from the "primeval" forests which 
surrounded it; (for I take it that "balloon frames" 
would have found little favor with the builders of 
that day, nor indeed were they adapted to the 
locality where this edifice stood;) with a shingled roof 
and entrance on the south side. It was innocent, I 
think, of window glass for years after^ as it certainly 
was of a pulpit or pews, and from its advantageous 
location it did not need, nor have a steeple, nor, did the 
traditional bell, given by the grateful Irish lord, who 
was honored by the naming of the town, ever seem 
to have arrived. 

It does not seem to have been but partially finish- 
ed till after 1742, for at the second town meeting, 
held March 4th, of that year, Hugh Henry, Robert 
Hunter and Andrew Smith, were appointed a com- 
mittee "to treat with the gentlemen," or proprietors 
about finishing it; and the town meeting held July 
ist, of that year seems to have been the first meeting 
of the kind held in the new building, or as the records 
say, "the house in which they usually assemble on the 
Sabbath day." 

The first committee to provide preaching consisted 
of John Clark, Robert Hunter and Andrew Smith, but 
just who was their first supply, (for they did not have 
a settled minister till about ten years later) is rather 
difficult to determine. Rev. Mr Abercrombie of 
Pelham seems to have preached for them, and board- 
ed with Hugh Henry previous to July 1 743- 
February 7, 1744, it was voted; "To continue the 



37 

Rev. Mr. Morrison sometime longer," and the Sep- 
tember following it was voted "to have transient 
preaching, for the present continue amongst us, 
sometime longer according to our circumstances at 
present;" the circumstances probably being the im- 
pending Indian troubles. 

In March, 1752, Hugh Morrison was chosen a 
committee "to represent our case to the Presbytery" 
and 200 pounds old tennor, 30 bushels of wheat, and 
60 days work, were voted "to Mr Daniel Mitchel or 
or any other minister who will settle with us in the 
work of theministree;" but Mr. Mitchel did not come. 
January 5, 1753, it was voted, "that the people have 
agreed to prosecute a call for Mr. Alexander 
McDowell;" March 5 they took some measures to- 
ward repairing the meeting house, and March 22 held 
a meeting; "to see which minister the town will 
choose whether Mr. Mitchel or Mr. McDowell;" and 
"voted and chose Mr. McDowell", also "to invite Mr. 
Abercrombie and Mr. Ashely of Deerfield" to come 
and keep a fast with us on the twelfth day of April 
next." 

The historian of the Connecticut Valley wonders 
what this "Fast" means, which would seem to disclose 
that he was not brought up among the Scotch Presby- 
terians of New England. Considerable trouble seems 
to have been experienced in arranging the details 
for the settlement of Mr. McDowell, regarding the 
salary &c., and several meetings were held and 
committees appointed. The last of these held Septem- 
ber 25, "at seven o'clock in the morning," seems to have 
settled it, and raises the question in my mind whether 
it was hardly fair to have called the meeting so early, 
as some possible objector might not have been an ' 



38 

early riser. Alas ! how the race have deteriorated, 
how very few of all the descendants of these good men 
would have had any sort of a use for a town meeting held 
at seven o'clock in the morning. 

Mr. McDowell was settled as pastor of the church 
and society, September 27 of this year, and December 
31st, Hugh Morrison is voted 42 pounds, old tennor^ 
"for boarding ministers and two journeys on the towns 
business" and some "liqure" "spent at the ordenation." 
This to us sounds strange, but the customs of that 
time demanded it. Mr. McDowell's pastorate con- 
tinued for about eight years, he being dismissed, it has 
been said, owing to his tendency to intemperance. 
He continued to reside here, died and was buried 
here, but no stone marks his grave; his family 
having neglected, and the town voting in 1 768, not 
to procure any. As there was secured to him in 1761 
the land to which the first settled minister was 
entitled, over two hundred and fifty acres in all, I 
cannot think that the town could properly be cen- 
sured. After Mr. McDowell's dismission, Mr Aber- 
crombie was again invited to preach to them, but 
some disatisfaction seems to have arisen and it was 
voted in August, 1763, "that ye Revd. Mr. Abercrom- 
bie should preach here no longer," and at the same 
meeting it was voted "to send to ye J arses for Mr. 
Thompson" who seems to have been a "Touterer" in 
ye "Jarse" "College;" but nothing seems to have come 
of it, nor of several other efforts which followed. In 
In May 1764, Rer. Mr. Kincaid of New Hampshire 
was requested to "endeavor to write and bring a 
minister from Pennsylvania to preach with us and 
also to settle with us if we like each other," and I 
have in my possession an old letter of about this date 



39 

a very remarkable and stately document written by 

the Revd. Mn Abercrombie of Pelham to Lieutenant 

James Stewart referring to the matter I have just 
mentioned. 

The meeting house seems to need repairing this 
year, and it is voted "to give any one the shingles on 
the south side who will take them off and return 
the nails to the town," and that Matthew Bolton 
"provide and frame in a "cell" (meaning doubtless 
sill) "in the south side'' and also "to colour the meet- 
ing house" and 'Ithat it shall be colored 'Blew.' 
In 1766, an effort was made to have "Revd. Jonathan 
Levitt come and preach in town," and also the year 
following inducements held out to "Rev. Simeon Miller" 
to settle over them, but this last did not succeed. In 
January 1768, James Stewart was sent as a committee 
to Pennsylvania to endeavor to get Rev.Daniel McClel- 
lan "or some other Presbyterian minister;" though a 
vigorus protest was made at the expense of sending 
a man so far. After a great many preliminaries, as 
the records recite, Mr. McClellan came, though not 
till he had decided whether he should come or not 
by setting up a stick and letting it fall as it should 
happen; as it fell toward Colrain he came. John 
Bolton who sent for him, and accompanied him and 
his wife and their three colored servants here, being- 
allowed nine pounds and thirteen shillings for his 
expenses. Mr. McClellan lived during the first year 
of his residence here on lot 37, in a house which 
then stood a short distance east of Mr. G. W. Miller's 
barn though after his dismission, he lived on the north 
part of what is now the Roberts farm, just south and 
adjoining the farm of Col. Hugh McClellan, His 
pastorate commenced June ist, 1769, and continued 



40 

about four years. During this time pews were built 
in the meeting house and it was voted ''to pay for 
them by poll and estate assessed upon the inhabi- 
tants." In April, 1772, it was voted "to seat the lower 
part of the meeting house by real and personal estate 
and that it be done by last year's estimation, and to 
continue 3 years"; but when the committee, consisting 
of James Stewart, Dea. Hugh Riddle, John Clark, 
Dea. Harroun, Hugh McClellan, John Wood and Dea. 
Thomas Morris, had arranged it as they thought right, 
the town took it into their own hands, and voted "that 
the two highest persons in last year's estimation shall 
take pew No. 2, the two next highest the pew No. 3, 
and so on until the 38 pews are taken", but who by 
this arrangement occupied the pew of greatest dignity 
and who that of the least, will probably never be 
known. It had been voted in 1769, to build a pulpit, 
but it met with great opposition and resulted finally, 
though many years later, in the building of two meet- 
ing houses, one on North River, and one near where 
Mr. H. A. Howard now lives. 

The project was carried along from 1769 to May 
16, 1774, when an appropriation of twelve pounds was 
voted to build it and a sharp protest against the 
action of the town is entered upon the records, signed 
by John Morrison, David Wilson, Joseph Thompson, 
Daniel "Donetson" and others, living in the west part 
of the town. Nor can we wonder much at their 
action, when we consider what a hill they must climb 
to get to church,- and that they should have protested 
against the permanent improvments which looked to 
the keeping of the Meeting House in a location that 
was convenient to the settlers as they at first settled, 
but not to the inhabitants of the town as a whole, is 



41 

not in the least strange nor unreasonable. It is 
greatly to be regretted, however, that the building of 
a new pulpit should have so nearly rent the society 
in twain; but the trouble seems to have commenced 
here and to have increased as the years went on. In 
P'ebruary 1777, Rev. JMr. Taggart was ordained and 
installed as pastor. In 1779 the building of a meeting 
house on the west side of the river was ao-itated, and 
a spot selected by vote of the town, "16 rods north 
west of David Morrisons house, in Capt John Mor- 
risons enclosure, at a stake and stones." This, would 
have been a move north-west with a vengeance, had it 
been carried out. The town, however, voted "to give 
the inhabitants on the west side of North River their 
proportion of preaching this 3^ear," but the meeting 
house was not built It would take too long to relate 
to you, all the votes passed at the various meetings in 
the years immediately succeeding.' In May 1780, it 
was voted, "not to build a meeting house this year at 
the place where the committee appointed;" and in July 
of the same year it was voted, ''to choose a committee 
from out of town to look out a meeting house spot." 
Messrs. Jonathan Hastings of Charlemont, Benjamin 
Henry of Halifax, and Agrippa Wells of Greenfield, 
were agreed upon, and also voted, " that Mr. George 
Patterson and Capt. Hugh McClellan give their 
attendance on, and instruction to, said committee, with 
regard to the make of the town." This committee 
seems to have fixed upon a spot "near Mr Gardners, 
upon a rising ground northwest of his house, by a 
stake and stones set up for that purpose:" which 
location was accepted by the town; but just where it 
was would be difficult now to determine. Still it 
would seem that this knott)' problem was no nearer 



42 

solution. In March 1783, and again in the same 
month 1784, it was voted "that one third of the 
preaching should be on the west side of North River," 
but in April of this latter year, the town voted, ^^that 
there shall be but one place for the public worship of 
God m this townf which vote was substantially re- 
peated in June 1785, and another committee chosen, 
mainly from out of town, "to settle the controversy"; 
but not for sometime yet was it settled. It would 
seem, too, that about this time, good old Parson 
Taggart began to get disturbed, as I notice that m 
Sept. 1785, James Stewart, Jonathan McGee and 
Deacon Harroun, were chosen a committee "to con- 
verse with the Rev. Mr. Taggart, with regard to the 
request he laid before the Presbytery at their last 
meetinof, with regfard to his dismission from his 
pastorate;" and voted "to give said committee direc- 
tions after they shall have conversed with Mr. Tag- 
gart what to write," which was, "that he be not 
dismissed.'' 

In August 1787, it was voted, "to build a meeting 
house near John Clark's where the committee appoint- 
ed it, "as soon as conveniency will allow;" and in 
May of the following year a committee was chosen to 
procure materials; but yet in February 1789, this 
committee were given orders to desist from their 
efforts. And so the see-sawing in this notable con- 
troversy went on^ and it was not till 1795, that a 
larger and more commodious meeting house was 
finally built, just north of John Clark's, who lived, as 
I have said, where Martin Brown now lives. The 
old church was taken down; and it is said that on the 
day they met for that purpose, the two factions in this 
meeting house controversy, had a pitched battle, and 



43 

that some of them were pretty roughly used; but 
that it was all amicably settled before they separated 
and no hard feeling was cherished afterward. And it 
is also a probable fact that some of the timbers of the 
old church building, were used by Capt. Clark 
Chandler in building the house in which Mr. Geo. 
W. Miller now lives. For me to attempt to describe 
the new house would seem superfluous, as many of 
you who listen to me have seen and worshiped in it. 
Here, for nearly a quarter of a centur}' afterward, 
Parson Taggart instructed his people in the ways of 
peace and Godliness, (the desk from which he spoke 
being still used in your town hall to-day;) while they 
watching their frosted breath as it icily ascended, 
with every muscle tensely set to prevent the chatter- 
ing of their teeth, devoutly sat and listened until he 
had preached to seventeenthly and beyond in the 
various heads of his sermon; the sun sometimes 
getting behind the hills before he finished. For at this 
time the heating of churches was a thing of the future, 
and the right of it was seriously questioned. And it has 
been told me, that when my good old grandmother, 
Jane (Patterson) McClellan, by a little effort among 
the women had procured a stove, it was talked 
among the men that "they best get some trousers 
for her," implying that her actionwas discountenanced. 
Thus did our fathers seek to ostracise any warmth 
in their churches,' except such as pertained to the 
doctrines preached. 

Many good stories are told of Parson Taggart, 
among the best of which is the account of his enjoy- 
ment of the hospitalities of good old Parson Emerson 
of Conway. The occasion was a o^atherin"- of the 
ministers of the county at that place, and Parson 



44 

Emerson had invited them to his house to be enter- 
tained. His wife having lived in the city previous to 
her marriage, was incHned to put on rather more style 
than some of her guests were accustomed to; the 
ample table cloth of snowy white damask, being quite a 
novelty to the assembled ministers, and quite in con- 
trast with their furnishings at home. Parson Taggart 
was a large, rather corpulent, and very absent mind- 
ed man, inclined to be somewhat careless in his 
personal appearance. As he sat at table, with the 
profusion of damask in his lap, the idea got posses- 
sion of him, that a portion of his under raiment was 
escaping; and aware that he had on no suspenders, 
"he modestly, but absent mindedly, from time to time 
proceeded to tuck it in. When the meal was finished 
and they all arose for the accustomed grace, there 
came a fearful crash amongr the cjood Domine's 
crockery; and Parson Taggart found that it was not 
his shirt, but his hostess' snow white table cloth, that he 
had been tucking behind his oapacious waist-band. 

Another, somewhat similar, relates to his having 
occasion to use a shoe maker's awl, and not being 
possessed of one he borrowed of his parishioner, Dea. 
McGee. When the time came to return it, arraying 
himself in his customary long black coat, he started 
out to do the errand, and make a friendly call upon 
the Deacon and his family. Arrived there, with his 
usual absent mindedness, the special purpose of his 
coming escaped him, and the hours sped by in pleas- 
ant conversation; nor did it occur to him till in 
shifting his enormous bulk in the chair he became 
vividly conscious of the presence of that awl in his 
coat tail pocket. This was "awl" that was needed; 
hastily rising, he handed it to the Deacon, remarking 



45 

"Mr. McGee here is your awl", and immediately de. 
parted for homxe. On one occasion, he started on 
horse back, to pay a visit to Rev. Dr. Packard in 
Shelburne. On the way, he had occasion to dis- 
mount to cut a stick for use as he rode; carefully 
trimming off the branches, he threw it away, 
carrying the open knife, which he had used, in his 
hand all the way to Shelburne. He was a very 
learned and thoroughly good man, greatly respected 
by all Fourteen years he served as a member of the 
U. S. Congress, and is said to have read his Bible 
through once at least during each of the years of his 
service; a practice which perhaps not all the congress- 
men of the years succeeding have strictly adhered to. 
He continued to reside in town until his death in 1825, 
and among the best preserved monumental stones in 
the old burial ground are those of himself and family. 

The same year that this house was built, witnessed 
the building of the old east meeting house, by parties 
in the east part of the town who were disgruntled at 
the location of this, and recently there came into my 
possession the records of this east society, from the 
time it started, on through its struggles and trials, un- 
til it finally voted to sell the meeting house and devote 
the proceeds to building the tomb in the cemetery near 
the brick school house. Before I leave this part of my 
subject, I wish (as being somewhat associated with it,) 
to refer to the old burial ground, and to several votes 
passed by the town which seem to go very far toward 
settling the question of its ownership. 

By the old records I find that in March 1745, John 
Pennill, (Senior,) Robert Hunter, and Hugh Henry 
were chosen a committee "to take a deed of the grave 
yard on the part of the town" and in June following. 



46 

ft was "voted and granted one pound ten shillings, 
old tennor, to defray the charges of the grave yard 
deed." October 1767, it is voted "that the grave yard 
shall be fenced this year"; voted "that the west side of 
the grave yard shall be fenced with stones, and the rest 
with chestnut or oak rails," Also I find in March, 
1786, "the bargain was confirmed by a town vote, con- 
cerning three-fourths of an acre of land adjoining the 
grave yard" which seems to have been purchased of 
Dea. George Clark. 

Gentlemen, the present pitiful and disgraceful con- 
dition of this old burial ground, appeals to the sympa- 
thies of almost everyone present; here 

"Each in his narrow cell forever laid. 
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep," 

who while they lived, the sun did not shine upon 
nobler, braver or grander men. And that their last 
resting place should be thus desecrated, and the 
rude tablets which record their virtues destroyed, 
is a standing disgrace to the town, and to us as indi- 
viduals. Could the order of the generations have been 
changed, and they have succeeded us, I am sure that 
our memories would not thus have been neglected. 

SECOND DIVISION LOTS 

Let us again revert to a previous time in the 
history of these affairs. In April, 1743, the settlers 
voted ''to have the second division land laid out as 
soon as possible", and also passed votes as to the size 
of the lots &c; but it was not for several years 
yet that it was done. Up to this time the six thousand 
acres which the proprietors had appropriated for this 
purpose, lying across the north part of the town had 
remained as at first. About 1751 or 2, the sixty, 



47 

one hundred acre lots were surveyed off and number- 
ed, and the lots drawn for the settlers by Samuel 
Clark, alter which, notwithstanding the times were 
^'troublous" by reason of the Indians, the farms in the 
north part of the town began to be taken up and 
settled upon, though not to any great extent until the 
close of the Indian War. 

INCORPORATION 

In 1 76 1 the town petitioned to be incorporated; 
and chapter 10, of the old Province laws, recites; An 
act for incorporating the Plantation called Colrain into 
a town called Colrain. 

Whereas, the new plantation of Colrain, lying in the county of 
Hampshire is completely filled with inhabitants, and labors under 
great difficulties and inconveniences, by means of their not being a 
town : Therefore ; be it enacted, by the Governor, Couucil, and 
House of Representatives : 

Sec. I. That the said new plantation commonly called Colrain, 
lying on the northwest of Deerfield, in the county of Hampshire, 
according to the bounds by which it was established by the General 
Court, be, and herebv is, erected into a town, invested with all the 
powers, privileges and immunities, that any of the towns of this 
province do or may by law enjoy, that of sending a representative 
to the General Court excepted. 

Provided : — Sec. 2. That nothing in this act shall be understood 
or so construed, as in any manner to supersede or make void any 
order or orders of this Court now in force, respecting the methods of 
making assessments within said plantation in time past, but that the 
same shall remain, and be as effectual as if this act had not been made. 

And be it further enacted ; 

Sec. 3. That Elijah Williams, P'sf^. be and hereby is empowered to 
issue his warrant to some principal inhabitant of the said plantation, 
requiring him in his Majesty's name, to warn and notify the said 
inhabitants ciualified to vote in town affairs, that they meet together 
at such time and place, in said plantation as by said warrant shall he 
appointed, to choose such officers as may be necessary to manage the 



48 

affairs of said town, and the inhabitants being so met, shall be and 
hereby are, empowered to choose such officers accordingly. 

Passed June 30, 1761. 

Signed and published July 11, 1761 

The Indian disturbances now being ended, and the 
town incorporated; many of the settlers who had pre- 
viously left their farms on account of the war returned, 
new accessions arrived, land was bought and settled 
upon in all directions, and a period of tranquility and 
prosperity set in, which soon put this young community 
well on the way to what forty years later it became, 
one of the most prosperous and enterprising towns in 
this part of Hampshire County. 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 

The period which will next claim our attention 
is the Revolutionary War; and it has occurred to me, 
whether or not, that provision in the act of incorporation 
depriving those Scotch-Irish ancestors of ours the 
choice of a representative, had any effect to increase 
their contempt for his majesty King George, and 
to strengthen their patriotic devotion to the cause of 
the Colonies. Undoubtedly it had; for no Irish "home 
ruler" of to-day, entertains such utter contempt for 
privileged rulers, as did they; and it is but natural to 
suppose that they were in hearty sympathy with the 
popular grievance of that time, "taxation without 
representation". 

As early as September, 1768, I find it was voted, 
"that the town shall act on what the Selectmen of the 
town of Boston have sent to this town, and to send a 
man to Boston, to join the committee of convention 
there, that is now met, and that James Stewart, Jr., go 
as our committee man". It was about this time that 



49 

General Gage with British troops occupied Boston, 
and this recorded action probably bears some refer- 
ence to that event, and proves that this distant 
frontier town was very early interested in the cause 
of resistance to the mother country. 

William Stewart, James Stewart. Hezekiah Smith, 
John Woods, John Morrison, Daniel Donelson, and 
Thomas Bell, composed the committee of correspond- 
ence in 1773, and in January of 1774 a very significant 
town meeting was held. It seems to have been 
called to consider some communication from the 
committee of safety at Boston. Joseph Caldwell was 
chosen moderator, and then meeting adjourned to Mr. 
John Woods' tavern; (where Mr. Aaron Lyons form- 
erly lived,) to discuss the situation, and other matters, 
including probably, certain liquids that John Woods 
naturally kept; and before they finally adjourned, 
they framed and passed some resolutions which are 
marvels of their kind, and fully justify the estimate I 
have put upon their authors. Undoubtedly James Stew- 
art, and others whose names I have mentioned, had a 
hand in the framing and drafting of this remarkable 
work, and if the same abilities which they have here 
exhibited, still reside among their descendants, here 
or elsewhere, they certainly possess talents of a very 
high order. 

These resolutions have been lost or abstracted 
from the records of the town, but I get them from 
another source, and deem it eminently proper that 
the record of this meeting should be given in their 
own words which are as follows. After receiving 
the letters sent by the committee of correspondence 
of Boston to the committee of correspondence of 



50 

Colrain and the proceedings of the town of Boston 
also, the proceedings of a body of the good people of 
the province were read; a motion was made 
whether this town will conform to the firm resolutions 
of our respectable brethren at Boston; the question, 
being put, unanimously passed in the affirmative. 

"Upon a serious consideration and due sense of our just rights, 
liberties, and properties, look upon ourselves by the laws of natural 
reason and common sense, to cast in our mite when our eyes behold 
the daring insults of extravagant men, not only those the other side 
the water, but men born and brought up as brethren with us, whose 
famous abilities gave us just expectations that thay would die with us 
rather than deny us, (but alas ! our hopes are gone ; designing men 
had rather sacrifice their whole country, that was bought by their 
and our glorious ancestry at the price of their blood, than give up so 
small a profit) , since they could not obtain their former desires as 
they should get by a httle detestable tea sent out by the East India 
Company upon conditions unknown. We are sorry to see or hear 
of any of Adam's posterity so blinded (if the light that is in men be 
darkness, how great is that darkness). Now, in the present posture 
of our political affairs, it plainly appears tons that it is the design of 
this present ministry, to serve us as they have our brethren in 
Ireland, — first, to raise a revenue from us sufficent to support a 
standing army, as well as placemen aud pensioners, and then laugh 
at our calamities, and glut themselves on our spoil ; many of us in 
this town being eye-witnesses of those cruel and remorseless 
enemies. 

'•From just apprehension of the horrors and terror of slavery, we 
are induced to make the following resolves : 

"First. — Resolved, That as freemen and Englishmen we have a 
right to the disposal of our own, are certain there is no property 
in that which another can of right take from us without our 
consent, and that the measures of late pursued by the Ministry of 
Great Britian, in their attempts to subject the colonies to taxation 
by the authority of British Parliament, is unjust, arbitrary, 
inconsistant and unconstitutional. 

"Secondly. — Resolved, That by landing teas in America, impos- 
ing a duty by an act of Padiament (as is said), made for the support 



51 

of government, etc., has a direct tendency to subvert our Consititution 
and to render our General Assembly useless and government 
arbitrary, as well as bondage and slavery which never was designed 
by Heaven or earth. 

"Thirdly. — Resolved, That raising a revenue in America, to 
support placemen and pensioners, who, no doubt, when their 
scheme is once established, will be as merciless as those task- 
masters in Egypt, and will silence the murmurs of the people by 
laying on them greater burdens. 

"Fourthly. — Resolved, That we do discountenance mobs, and 
unlawful and riotous assemblies ; but when our valuable liberties 
and privileges are trodden under foot, and all petitions and remon- 
strances are rejected and treated with infamy and scorn, it is the 
duty of every true-hearted American (if possible) to free themselves 
from impending ruin. 

"Fifthly. — Resolved, That the late proceedings of the town of 
Boston, assembled at Boston, to consult measures against the East 
India Company, have gained the approbation and applause of 
every true-hearted, honest man ; and as their struggle is for the 
rights purchased by our renowned ancestors, which we esteem as 
dear as life itself, do fully express our satisfaction. 

"Sixthly. — Resolved, That we will not, by ourselves, or any 
under us, directly or indirectly, purchase any tea, neither will we use 
any on any occasion, until that unrightous act be repealed, and will 
use our utmost endeavors w^th every person in our town as we 
have opportunity, that they shall do the same ; and those that buy 
and sell teas contrary to our true intent and meaning, shall be 
viewed as enemies to their Country, and shall he treated as 
such" . 

It needs not to be pointed out, that these are 
remarkable sentiments which our fathers have here 
left on record, regarding the momentous events 
which were then transpiring. Scarce less clearly is 
the true animus of the situation apprehended and 
set forth, by these plain men, in what they have here 
written, than it was two years later by the great 
patriot, Thomas Jefferson, in the immortal Declara- 
tion of our Independence. They plainly discover to 



52 

us their opinions regarding the tax upon tea, and 
that the utmost resistance to the aggressions of the 
mother country was a first and paramount duty. 

And too, I think there is expressed in these reso- 
lutions, which might well be called a prior Declar- 
ation of Independence: that which fully justifies 
what I have asserted regarding their, or their an- 
cestors' experiences in Ireland, and the mighty influ- 
ence they there received, tending to make them self- 
reliant, and rugged in their resistance to oppression 
from whatever source. They had felt in Ireland the 
crushing weight of this same hand of power and 
had emigrated to this forbidding rocky wilderness, 
to enjoy what they esteemed to be inherent rights, 
which were denied them there; and now the same 
oppressive influence, was proposing to attack them 
here, designing to absorb all the results of their hard- 
earned prosperty and to again reduce them to the 
position of dependant vassals. Happily, in this, the 
Mother Country was unsuccessful, and that, because 
our forefathers were just such men as they were and 
had encountered just the experience we have referred 
to. Following this, a committee was chosen "to post 
such persons as shall sell or consume that unnecessary 
article tea", and I have no doubt that the destruction 
of a shipload of it by dumping it into Boston harbor 
was to them a source of supreme satisfaction, as the 
resolutions very plainly intimate. John Woods, Heze- 
kiah Smith, Hugh McClellan, Geo. Clark, Thomas 
Bell, James Stewart and David Harroun are the 
committee of correspondence in 1774, and about the 
same persons are a committee "to prevent mobs and 
riotous assemblies in town"; for it must be owned 
that not all were patriots, but that quite a number of 



53 

tories were found here at that time. But the patriots 
were so largely in the excess as to effectually over-awe 
them; and some of them, at least, were of such decided 
convictions upon these matters that an outspoken 
tory was liable to pretty rough treatment at their 
hands. It is probable that the company of minute- 
men was organized and drilled during this year, in 
anticipation of the stirring events which it was fully 
believed could not be a great while longer postponed; 
so that when the news reached them that fighting 
had begun, the men of this town were ready to 
respond. 

On the 19th of April, 1775, occured what is known 
as the Lexington Alarm, and "the shot was fired 
heard round the world". The news was brought by 
men on horseback, alarming the towns as they came; 
one of them reaching Greenfield it is said, in the 
afternoon of the day on which the battle occurred, the 
news probably reaching this town before night. The 
minute-men were hastily got together, to start at once 
for the scene of action. How the 44 men that compos- 
ed this company could have been got together so quick- 
ly has seemed marvelous, living as they did, some in 
Shelburne, and scattered from there clear to the 
Halifax line. But the time for action had arrived 
and like brave old Gen. Putman, "they stopped not 
on the order of their going". It has always been said, 
that the company was quartered during this night 
before they left, at the houses of Capt. McClellan, 
Dea. McGee, and Dea. Harroun; camping down on 
the floor, what time they were not engaged in getting 
ready a stock of bullets for future use; while the 
wives and mothers are said to have spent the night 
frying .doughnuts. And I have no doubt such was 



54 

substantially the case. I have often tried to imagine 
how they appeared as they started for Cambridge, on 
that memorable 20th of April; nothing very attractive 
in their looks, no great show of uniform; perhaps they 
had guns enough to go round and perhaps not, they 
did not always have, not till the battle commenced; 
but there were no hearts that quailed among them, 
and the experienced eyes that sighted those long 
gun barrels made it mighty dangerous to be within 
range of their muzzles. Their term of service at this 
time only continued about two weeks, though a large 
proportion of them re-enlisted. They were allowed 
nothing for entertainment, and at a town meeting 
held April 24, it was voted, "To send a waggon load 
of provisions to our men at Boston who have gone in 
the defence of their Country'', and May 9th, following, 
voted; "to send nine pounds to the soldiers belong- 
ing to this town now at Cambridge"; and there is 
pathos in what follows, "that the selectmen do their 
utmost to iorrow said sum". John Morrison and 
Dea. Wm. McCrellis are to meet at the house of 
James Stewart to prize some blankets that are to be 
sent, and May 23, Lieutenant Hezekiah Smith is chosen 
a delegate to the provincial Congress at Watertown. 

I regret very much that there is a gap in the old 
records from Nov. of this year to March 1779, so that 
we lose any possible action of the town relative to 
the declaration of Independence, and the stirring 
events enacted during 1776. But we find that from 
February 23 to April 10, 1777, quite a number of 
Colrain men were with Capt. Lawrence Kemp of 
Shelburne doing duty at Ticonderoga, and in August 
ofthatyear, a number of men connected with the 
minute-men, living in the north part of the town, 



55 

hearing the cannon at Bennington, hastily got to- 
gether as many as they could of the company, and 
post off on horseback as fast as possible, to help out 
the brave Continentals under General Starke, but 
arrive too late to do much fighting. In the two 
months succeeding, however, this company is destined 
to play an important part in the drama of events, 
now speeding fast to a denoument. Burgoyne, 
flushed with success thus far, was confident he 
could carry all before him and by dividing the 
colonies on the line of the Hudson River, thus fatally 
weaken them; and so celebrate a happy Christ- 
mas with Sir Henry Clinton, whom he expected to 
meet at Albany. Our brave Scotch-Irish ancestors, 
aware, as doubtless you are, of the fate of the lovely 
Miss McCrea, and that a like fate was portended to 
their own wives and firesides, should his success 
be accomplished, needed no other incentive to resist 
and crush this danger which threatened their bordt^rs. 

In September^ Col. David Wells, grandfather of 
the present Col. David Wells of Shelburne, came from 
the seat of war about Saratoga, to stir up the people 
and induce them to rally for one last, resistless blow 
upon their enemy, and whereas it seemed that every 
man that could be spared had gone; the women, 
imbued with the very spirit of Spartan Mothers, said 
we will harvest the oats and care for the work that 
is pressing, go and fight for your country. And 
throughout this vicinity, from the Vermont line 
as far south as Savoy, he took back with him 1500 
additional men. So general was this rally that in a 
time of wide-spread and deathly sickness which 
followed, it is said that only the aged men and the 
women were left to care for the sick and bury the 



56 

dead. Go not to ancient history for the record of 
deeds of surpassing heroism, but rather to the record 
of the deeds of those who filled our places, loo years 
ago. 

Forty six of the "minute-men" from this town, 
under Capt. Hugh McClellan went out at this time 
and were present at the surrender of Burgoyne in the 
following month; and the story of their exploits as 
told in "Holland's History of Western Massachusetts" 
is substantially correct, and Capt. McClellan was 
often wont to repeat it to his grand-children. 

After the fall of Burgoyne, the theatre of war was 
removed to other and more distant- fields, and while 
our fathers, never for a moment lost their interest in 
the cause, yet the record of the time is evidence of 
how hardly was our Independence achieved. The 
long protracted struggle was a fearful drain upon the 
limited resources of this young and over-taxed com- 
munity, and as I read the record of the two succeeding 
years, it needs no stretch of the imagination to dis- 
cover that these were times of dire extremity; the 
necessaries of life were fabulously dear, nothing was 
cheap except Continental money, the tories began to 
prick up their ears, plenty were ready to say "I told 
you so," and there begins to become apparent even 
almost among the tried and true ones, who were 
prominent in town affairs, a spirit of petulant murmur- 
ing and discontent, that a few years later broke out in 
open rebellion. In April, 1779, it was voted, "That 
no person belonging to any other town shall purchase 
cattle or any other provision in this town unless such 
person shall produce a certificate from the selectmen 
or committee of the town to which he belongs, 
that he is not a monopolizer or forestaller, and that he 



57 

is a friend of the United States of America," and 
Oliver Newell, Lieut. Jonathan Wilson, and Deacon 
Harroun, were chosen inspectors of monopolizers and 
forestallers. Also I have under date of June 21, of 
this year, a communication from he committee of 
safety and correspondence of Boston, John Lowell 
Chairman; directed to the committee of this town; 
treating of this very matter, and showing that this evil 
was widely prevalent. And as discovering still more, 
their straitened circumstances, i t was voted Sep. 20, 
1779, to choose David Wilson, Oren Smith, James 
Stewart, William Stewart and Jonathan McGee, a 
committee "to state the price of hay &c.," and they 
reported that the price of hay be "thirty six shillings 
per hundred pounds, horse-keeping per night thirteen 
shillings, and oxen per night nineteen shillings." 
From some old letters in my possession, I also get 
some facts still further illuminating their perilous sit- 
uation. The first is from David J effries, (a descendant 
of Joshua Winslow, one of the original proprietors of 
the town) under date of Oct. 15, 1780, written to James 
Stewart, the town clerk. Towards the close of his 
letter he says, "2,0 or 40 good tallow for candles and 
40 or 50 good butter, would be very acceptable; can- 
dles and butter are at the high prices of 15 dollars per 
pound." The other is from Hartford, under date of 
Nov. 12,1 780, also written to James Stewart. Among 
other matters it says, "by the post you will receive 
three Spanish milled dollars, in hard money, equivalent 
to 240 Continental dollars par of exchange here". Thus 
we see that on a "hard money" basis, butter was worth 
about twenty cents per pound, or very near the 
average price it brings to day. But of gold and silver 



58 

our fathers possessed very little, and that only of a 
foreign stamp, and were consequently subjected to the 
fluctuations of Continental paper money, and their sit- 
uation was pitiful indeed. Thus too, do these old and 
venerable written papers, musty and yellowed by time, 
throw light upon the hard facts which existed away 
back in the time when liberty commenced in this land 
of ours, which now boasts sixty millions of freemen. 
I wish I might give you many other votes of a similar 
nature to those I have stated above, passed by the 
men of this town about these times; for I deem it ] 
they must possess great interest to us all; but am 
oblisfed to omit them. I must not however omit some 
account of a certain town meeting held in the year 
1780, and which was one of the most extraordinary 
town meetings of which I have any knowledge, and, 
considering the size of the community, I do not think 
it has its parallel anywhere in the history of the state. 

On the 13th of August^ 1779? Hezekiah Smith was 
chosen *'to go to Cambridge on the first day of Sept- 
ember next, to help frame a constitution, or new 
form of Government, for the State of Massachuetts 
Bay". The convention met on the above date, and 
continued by adjournments till the second day of 
March following, at which time it adjourned until the 
first Wednesday of the ensuing June, and in the 
meantime the Constitution was submitted to the 
people for ratification. A meeting was held here on 
Tuesday, the i6th day of May, and Major Hezekiah 
Smith was chosen moderator. It was than voted "to 
read the Constitution paragraph by paragraph, or the 
clause, or clauses, and every person to make their 
objection, or objections, to any paragraph, or any 



59 

clause, in said Constitution". This was accordingly 
done, and amendments proposed, discussed, and 
voted upon, to nearly every article it contained; after 
which, Major Smith, Capt. McClellan, William Stew- 
art, Lieutenant Pennill, Oren Smith, Deacon Lucas, 
and Deacon McGee, were chosen a committee, "to draw 
up in proper order the amendments above, and 
also to make such amendments as they shall think 
proper on the remainder of the constitution", and to 
report at an adjourned meeting to be held on the 26th 
instant. This report under date of May 19, is very 
full and particular; stating their objections to various 
articles and giving their reasons therefor and is in every 
respect a most remarkable production. I wish I 
might introduce it here entire, but my space will not 
permit. They disapproved of the entire third article 
in the bill of rights, except the first seven lines, and 
the last clause of said article; and grave as a 
reason that they thought that the Legislature had 
"not a right to command the subject in matters of 
religion, unless in his protection." They disapprov- 
ed of the qualification fixed for Senators (one hundred 
pounds) and gave as a reason, "we consider money 
as no qualification in this matter". They thought 
eleven Senators sufl^cient to constitute a quorum: 
"Reason, — to prevent unnecessary cost". They moved 
to amend the 2nd article of the 2nd chapter, regarding 
the qualification for Governor; "That the sum oi one 
thousand pounds be not considered a qualification" 
and "that the word Protestant be substituted instead 
of Christian. Reasons, — ist.. We could wish the im- 
portant chair to be filled with qualifications prefer- 
able to that of money", and 2nd, "We are a Protestant 
people". In the 2nd Article of Chapter 6th; "We 



60 

move that an addition be made to this article; that 
no person be suffered to hold any office in this 
Commonwealth who has not been friendly to the 
independence of said Commonwealth". Reason, — "A 
person who has acted the traitor in this important 
matter is not to be trusted". 

These specimens must suffice; and I submit that 
in the light of events that have since transpired, the 
wisdom of many of their suggestions and criticisms, 
is fully apparent. A stranger, reading these pages in 
the old record book might well inquire, who were 
these wise philosophers, who discuss so ably the 
science of government? and the answer would be, 
they are the plain yeomanry of the land, the same 
men who have cut down these forests, and brought 
fertility to these valleys; unlearned, untutored men, 
their opportunties the slighest, for the eoinmonest 
kind of a Gommon school edueation; yet their wis- 
dom, their candor, and their ^fearlessness, are so appar- 
ent in what they have here written, that the student 
who reads it after the lapse of a hundred years, can- 
not repress a feeling of pride that such men were 
our predecessors ; and I predict that whoever may 
read it, when another century shall have closed; that 
in the light of the then current events, he will have 
no less cause for satisfaction. 

Following these events, our fathers began to feel 
most sorely the force of their straitened circumstances. 
With the close of the war of the Revolution; serious 
embarrasments, both public and private, seemed to 
beset them at every hand. Nor were the reasons for 
this far to seek. Massachusetts had furnished one third 



61 

of the men to prosecute the war, and as her proportion 
of the National debt she owed five millions of dollars. 
On her own account she owed four millions more; and 
to the soldiers she had sent into the field, she owed an 
additional six hundred thousand; making her total in- 
debtedness about ten millions of dollars; not much we 
should say, in the light of our present liabilities; but 
to our fathers, with revenues to meet this liability 
only the slightest, with industries destroyed and para- 
lyzed by war, with a people unsettled and debased by 
the same cause, with taxes high, and a prospect that 
they must be still higher, with stringent laws regarding 
the collection of debts; which they conceived to be 
and which doubtless were, unnecessarily cruel ; the 
prospect to them was simply appalling. And it is not 
to be wondered at, that in view of all this; added to 
the inflammable appeals and resolutions of designing 
men; many of these brave veterans who had stood 
firm where dangers were thickest, in the struggle 
for independence; were swept from their loyal moor- 
ings, and induced to take up arms against their country; 
an act which to their dying day they regretted, and 
remembered with shame and confusion. 

SHAY'S REBELLION. 

In the disturbances which followed, and which are 
known as the ''Shay's Rebellion", this town was 
pretty thoroughly divided in sentiment, and the lines 
very sharply drawn. Many recruits were furnished 
to the ranks of the insurgents, while a still larger 
number, I must believe, remained firm in their ad 
herence to the cause of law and order. As early as 



62 



April, 1782, "the town unanimously voted, that it 
is the opinion of this town that the county courts 
ought not to sit in this county of Hampshire, in 
civil cases until the grievances they labor under are 
redressed", and "to send a petition to the judges of 
the supreme court at Northampton, and also a com- 
mittee to go to neighboring towns to inform them of 
our proceeding"; and chose Geo. Patterson, Lieuten- 
ant Bell, and Lieutenant Riddle, as a committee. 
They then adjourned the meeting, for three days, at 
which time they met, heard the report of their com- 
mittee and "voted that those who go to Northampton 
have ammunition out of the town stock"; and in the 
following month Geo. Patterson, Col. McClellan, 
James Stewart, David Wilson and Deacon Lucas are 
chosen a committee "to draw up the grievances we 
labor under, and lay them before the town for the 
town's acceptance and amendment, that they may be 
laid before the General Court's Committee provided 
they come to town". 

It will be seen by this, that the attitude of the 
town was anything but passive, and this too 
nearly five years before these troubles resulted in any 
serious outbreak. A vote passed at the March meet- 
ing of 1783, disclosed somewhat, the circumstances 
they were in. Voted, "that grain shall be received for 
taxes at the following rates; wheat, 8 shillings, rye, 6 
shillings, corn, 5 shillings and wool, 2 shillings and 
six pence, and that persons paying any of the above 
articles in lieu of money, shall deliver them at Major 
Smith's, Geo. Patterson's or James Stewart's." And as 
bearing upon their estimate of a "tory turn ccat"; in 
May of this year they voted "that the people called 



63 

refugees, that have gone to the British, shall not 
return to live amongst us." Rather uncharitable per- 
haps, but God bless them for their discriminating 
uncharitableness in this regard. 

In August 1786, was held the famous Hatfield 
Convention and Colrain was probably represented by 
Lieutenant James Stewart. From this time on, 
matters ripened fast; the sitting of the courts was 
obstructed at Northampton and other places, and in 
January, 1787, occurred what is known as the battle 
at Springfield, the account of which is familiar to 
you all. Colrain was well represented on both sides 
that day, each doubtless believing they were right; 
but at the first shot the army of Shay's, which was 
really little else but a mob, ignominiously broke and 
fled.' 

They could not be rallied, and soon dispersed to 
their homes. When the men of this town arrived 
here they were dreadfully bitter regarding their 
townsmen who had remained loyal to the Goverment. 
Especially so were they regarding Col. McClellanand 
Major Wm. Stevens ; these two they swore they would 
hang, but when their threats came to the ears of the 
Colonel's wife she merely remarked, "Haman built a 
gallows on which to hang Mordacai"; evidentl)' 
having in mind an experience that Haman encoun- 
tered in that little transaction. Their wrath soon sub- 
sided however, and March 21st following, sixty of 
them are recorded as takino: the oath of alles^iance 
administered by the Colonel; and with him also they 
were obliged to leave their guns; so that his bedroom, 
at the time is said to have presented the appearance 
of a small sized arsenal. Two days later appears the 
record of 25 more, subscribing to the oath before 



64 

Hugh Maxwell, Esq., of Heath. Certain restraints 
and disabilities, were imposed upon them for a short 
term, which they soon outlived, and the Shay's re- 
bellion was a thing of the past. But not to be entire- 
ly forgotton, as the satirical prodding regarding it, 
which those who had remained loyal, always delight- 
ed to give their fellows; would hardly let the memory 
of it die. Two anecdotes regarding it have been 
preserved, and are perhaps worth relating. The 
first is of Deacon Riddle, and his son Samuel. 
Deacon Riddle then lived where Mr. Gordon Thomp- 
son now lives at Elm Grove. His son Samuel, (father 
of the present Mr. Wm. Riddel of Greenfield), was a 
"Shayite" and went off with the others to Springfield. 
His father, the Deacon was loyal, and did not approve of 
his son's conduct; so hitching up his horses, he 
started after him. When he arrived at Springfield, 
the Shay's men were getting rather broken up, and 
some of them were deserting. He found his son, and 
told him to get into the sleigh and go home with 
him. Samuel obeyed, and they started; but before 
they had gone far, in passing a public house, they 
were halted as deserters; ordered to get out, their 
team unharnessed and put in the barn, and they 
were then placed in a room, containing but one small 
window^ some distance above the ground, and the 
door securel}'' locked. The Deacon, a pious, godly 
man; seeing a Bible lying on the table, opened it and 
commenced to read. He had not read long, when a 
a stranger came into the room, paused in front of the 
Deacon, and in no gentle manner snubbed the Deacon's 
nose. The covers of that Bible came together with 
the noise of a small earthquake; the Deacon rose in 
his wrath, seized the rascal by the back of the neck, 



65 

and the most obvious portion of his pantaloons, and 
threw him through the window to the ground below, 
taking out glass, sash, and all. The Deacon then 
composedly returned to his Bible reading; the son 
Sam, during this time being a much frightened 
spectator of events, and neither of them knowing 
what next would happen. Ver}' soon however, 
there is a rap at the door, and they are told that their 
team is ready for them to depart; it having been 
discovered, that the athletic Deacon was not the 
kind of a Shayite deserter they took him for. 

The other story, is of CoL McCIellan, and his neigh- 
bor Samuel Boyd. Boyd too was a Shayite, and at the 
close ottheaftair found himself in durance vile, with a 
strong probability that serious consequences lay not far 
ahead. His wife, sorely pressed with anxiety, be- 
sought the Colonel to intercede for her husband's 
pardon. 

The Colonel with his characteristic kindheartness; 
and doubtless remembering the time when Boyd and 
himself had faced danger together, (for Bo3^d had 
belonged to the minute men) consented to go; so 
saddling "^Old Pomp" he started for Boston. Arrived 
there, he presented himself before the Governor; (at 
that time no less a person than the redoubtable John 
Hancock, him of the severely classical and famous 
signature), interceded for Boyd and secured his 
release. After it was arranged, and while the papers 
were being made out, the Governor thought to give 
the Colonel a gentle reproof at being too kindhearted 
in matters of this sort. Said he; — "Col. McCIellan, I 
believe if the devil himself should get into trouble, 
you would intercede, to have him set at liberty". The 



66 

reply of the Colonel shows the quality of his wit, if 
not of his theology. "Certainly sir, — I should, if he 
repented". 

FAMILIES. 

I have spoken of the relationships which existed 
between very many families of the settlers, prior to 
their settlement in this town. Such was the case, and 
in the years succeeding, the marrying and intermarry- 
ing continued among them, until it might almost be 
truthfully said, that nearly all the inhabitants- of the 
town were related to each other: constitutinof 

''So subtle a tangle of blood, indeed, 
No heraldry Harvey, could ever succeed 
In finding the circulation." 

If I have not detained you to weariness, with this 
recital; and I somewhat fear I have, I would like to 
speak briefly, of some of the families that settled 
here very early, and the descendants of whom, some 
of them at least, have since remained uninterruptedly 
residents of this town. Prominent among these are 
the Clarks. 

Lieutenant John Clark and seven of his sons, were 
among the earliest settlers here. His family were 
probably all born in the old country, and they doubt- 
less came over from Ireland in the colony which 
arrived in 1718 or 19. They came to Colrain from 
Worcester or Rutland, (though John Jr. is mentioned 
as from Shrewsbury) having spent at least some 
part of the twenty years following their arrival in 
America, in those places. 

The}^ were here in Colrain in 1738, and during 
that, and the years immediately following, bought 



67 

largely of the settling lots ;*= and in 1745, the 
father bought the 500 acre tract on the west 
side of Norh River, disposing of a portion of it, very 
soon after, to his son Mathews; from whom it descend- 
ed, probably by inheritance to the fourth or possibly 
fifth generation. 

The Clarks were evidently people of means and 
interested themselves largely in the welfare of 
the new settlement, and were also active in its affairs; 
John, (senior) having been Treasurer and Collector 
from 1738 to September 1740. 

The name of the wife of John Clark (senior,) was 
Agnes Adams. The names of the children in the 
order of their birth are as follows ; Jane, who married 
William Gray; Mathew, who married Jane Bothwell ; 
Thomas, who seems to have never married; 
John, who married Catherine Montgomery; James, 
who married Mary Clark; William, who married 
Mary Smith ; Samuel, who married Margaret Paul ; 



* It has been stated that the proprietors gave away many of the 
house lots, to settlers, at first ; some authorities placing the number 
so donated, as high as fifty lots ; and Joshua Winslow in a letter 
written in 1751, to some of the setders ; objecting to their proposed 
petition to the General Court to have all the lands taxed ; claims 
that forty home lots, together with the second division lots were so 
disposed of. I have in my possession a copy of an old tax bill of a 
few years later, in which all the land then owned by the proprietors 
seems to be taxed ; which would indicate that neither the settlers or 
the General Court, paid much attention to Mr. Winslow's demurrer. 
Now while what is claimed above may be true, (and there is some 
internal evidence going to establish it), yet from the knowledge I 
have gained of the settlement of the estates of some of these early 
settlers ; and that some of them at least, died in debt to these same 
proprietors ; I am mclined to think that perhaps, Winslow was en- 
deavoring to excite their sympath\% and that even at this early date, 
this was an attempted case of tax dodging. 



6S 

Elizabeth, who married John Stewart; and GeorgCj, 
who married Alice, daughter of Deacon Alexander 
Harroun. 

Of the sons, certainly six, and I think all, settled 
here. The one in doubt is Thomas; as I find no 
record of his owning land; but as he was unmarried, 
he undoubtedly lived with his father, on the home- 
stead. The Clark geneology says that John Jr. 
settled in Pennsylvania; but that is, I think, a mistake : 
I am confident he settled in this town, and on the 
Copeland place, but did not live there many years,, 
dying previous to July ii, 1742. The children of the 
two families, of the name who live here at present, 
(Joseph B. and John L.) are the seventh generation 
from Lieutenant John Clark, who have lived in town; 
and are descendants of Matthew Clark who was 
killed by the Indians in May 1746, as I have previous- 
ly stated. And I am not aware that any descendant 
of any other branch of the family now resides here; 
certainly I think, none bearing the name. 

Matthew Clark, oldest son of John, senior, with 
his wife. Jennet Bothwell (or Bothel, I get it both 
ways), settled on lot No. 8, as I have said, and were 
the parents of ten children, all but three of whom 
were born previous to their settling here. Of these 
Jane, married Andrew Smith; John, married Betsey 
Stewart; and is the ancestor of the numerous branches 
of the family hereabouts; Alexander, married Eliz- 
abeth Donica; and settled in Shelburne; Agnes, mar- 
ried Daniel Donelson; and has numerous descend- 
ants still living among you; William, married Mary 
Patterson; Elizabeth, married William Stewart; son of 
Charles Stewart; and her descendants are well known; 
Hannah married Joseph McKowan, (or McCowan), 



69 

and was killed by the Indians, during the latter part 
of the Indian war; Margaret, married Peter Harwaod, 
removed to Amherst, Mass., and afterward to Ben- 
nington Vt.; Sarah died, from drownins:, unmarried; 
and Matthew, married Jane, daughter of John 
Workman. 

As it may be of interest to some, certainly to those 
who are descended from him, I will allow space in 
which to introduce the will of John Clark, senior, a 
copy of which I have in my possession. 

In the name of God, Amen. I John Clark, senior, 
of South Hadley, in the county of Hampshire, 
Province of Massachusetts Bay, Husbandman, 
being in perfect health of body, and in my right 
mind, but knowing the mortality of all mankind, am 
willing to settle my worldly affairs in the follow- 
ing manner. Imprimis; I give and bequeath to my 
beloved wife Agnes Clark, my whole household 
furniture, all my stock and chattels, and fifty acres of 
division land in a plantation called Colrain; she pay- 
ing whatever debts may be found upon my whole 
estate. 

Item. I give and bequeath to my son Geo. Clark, 
all my husbandry utensils, together with my home lot, 
buildings, and improvements, in the above named 
plantation, called Colrain. 

Item. I give and bequeath to my daughter 
Elizabeth Clark, one note, of about ninety-four pounds 
from Elijah Alvord of South Hadley. 

Item. I give and bequeath to my grandson, James 
Clark, son of my son John, deceased, one hundred 
acres of division land in said Colrain, with my gun 
and powder-horn; provided he stay with my wife until 



70 

he be twenty one years of age ; these things to be at 
her disposal. 

Item. I give and bequeath to my daughter Jane 
Gray, fifty acres of division land in the plantation 
called Colrain. 

Item. I appoint my beloved sons James and 
William Clark, executors of this my last will and 
testament.. Witness my hand and seal, at Pelham 
July 15th, 1748. 

R. Abercrombie, ^ 

John Ferguson, V Witnesses. John Clark, [l. s.] 

A. Abercrombie, j 

This will was presented for probate May 9, 1750, 
thus fixing quite closely the date of his decease. 
His wife does not seem to have long survived him; as 
November 13th, 1750, her son George is appointed 
administrator of her estate. 

George Clark, or Deacon George Clark, as he was 
known, lived and died on the home-lot, where his son 
Noah, known to many of you, afterward lived; of whom 
it is told, that v^hen the article of candle-snuffers, 
came into use, he was often known to praise the 
great convenience of the article, at the same time, 
snuffing the candle with his thumb and finger, and 
carefully depositing it in the cavity of the snuffers. 

Andrew^ Smith, during his somewhat limited stay 
in town was prominent in its affairs. He was the 
first settlers clerk, and seems to have held many other 
positions of trust; but I find no mention of him in the 
records after March 22, 1745. He married Jane 
Clark, though not till after 1750, I think, and removed 
back to Holden, Mass., where he i^aised a family, 
died, and was buried. His son Andrew, married a 
Gragg, and lived in this town in 1788, afterward 



71 

removed to Charlemont, where he reared a numerous 
famil}^ and where his descendants now reside. 

John Pennill (or Pannell), was another prominent 
man. He settled, as I have said, on lot 57. 
Most of his family were born previous to his com- 
ing here; only one son, Abraham, having been born 
in town, in 1742, the first white male child born in town. 
His son John Jr. seems to have inherited the home- 
stead, or at least the east half of the two lots, 57 and 
58, the west half going to Abraham. John Jr. was 
settlers' clerk from March 4, 1745, to March 4, 1754, 
and after the incorporation of the town, was town 
clerk from 1761 to 1764. He had a numerous 
family, two of his sons, J ohn and James, marrying 
daughters of Hezekiah Smith. Beside John Jr. and 
Abraham, there were Archibald, Robert, and per- 
haps other children. Archibald married Esther, 
daughter of John McCrellis, and lived on lot 47; 
where he died in 1754, leaving four children, and 
his widow afterward married Deacon Andrew Lucas. 
Next to John Clark, it is probable that Hugh Mor- 
rison was the largest owner of land in town in those 
early times; and to him the settlers were greatly in- 
debted for his public spirit and enterprise. He came 
here from Londonderry, New Hampshire, probably in 
1739, having emigrated from the north of Ireland to 
that place about 1725 or 6. He and his brother-in- 
law, John Henry, in settling here, seemed to prefer 
going outside of the regular lots, and bought land up in 
the woods, on what was then the northern frontier of 
the town, and where the fort was soon after located. 
His wife was Marrhi, McCrellis; and their children 
were, David, Robert, John, Martha, Samuel, and 
perhaps others; the two last only having been born 



72 

in this town. David was carried away by the 
Indians in 1 746, as I have related. Of Robert I can 
give no further account John was a noted Indian 
fighter, and for a great many years a prominent man; 
he married, and raised a family of eight children, and 
it was through him the lineage descended in this town. 
He removed to Hartford, N. Y. w^here he died Aug- 
ust I St, 181 o, aged 82 years. Martha, the first white 
child born in tow^n, married Hugh, son of Dr. Hugh 
Bolton; and has descendants living at the west; and the 
only farther trace I get of Samuel, is in 1766, at which 
time he is living in Halifax, Vt. Hugh Morrison 
died, I think, not far from 1765, though the date of 
his death and place of his burial, cannot be determin- 
ed, as no stone marks his grave. His wife died in 
1772, aged 70 years; and a nameless grave, just to 
the north of her's, in the old burying ground, is no 
doubt, the last resting place of Capt. Hugh Morrison; 
one of Colrain's best and bravest veterans. 

Thomas McGee, (weaver,) the progenitor of all of 
that name in this town, came here with his father-in- 
law James Stewart, from Concord, Mass. in March, 
1742. He was at that time about 28 years old, and 
probably had but recently married his wife. He 
settled on lot 53; and for several years I think, his 
father-in-law lived with him. He was Deacon in the 
church for a great many years, a staunch, reliable 
man, thoroughly trusted in public and private affairs. 
He was above the average, I am sure, in educational 
attainments, as indicated by his signature which I 
have seen. He settled many estates and held town 
office much of hislife. He died very suddenly, October 
27th, 1793, aged 79 years, leaving a family of eight 
children; his son Jonathan succeeding to his estate, 



73 

and to the public confidence which his father had 
enjoyed. 

About 174S, James Stewart, ( who is set down 
in the early records as a wig maker), seems to have 
separated from his son in law, Thomas McGee, and 
bought lot 32, and settled upon it; the house he lived 
in, standing in what is now Mr. Wm. B. McGee 's 
pasture, near to the line of the old road, known as 
the "Handy lane". About 1754 he is joined by his 
son James Jn, to whom he deeded lot 33, which he 
seems to have acquired meantime. And from this 
time forward, for fifty years or thereabout, no man in 
town, was more a public servant than James Stewart 
Jr. He was settlers' clerk for several years following 
1754, and was elected town clerk in 1764; and for 
nearly twenty five years following, with the exception 
of one year, the records of the town are kept by him. 
He was a beautiful penman, and it is a pleasure, at 
this time, to read what he has written, though much 
of it is more than a century old. He was a teacher 
of the art of writing, many coming from as far away 
as Greenfield to be taught by him. He served on 
many committees of the town, and was much em- 
ployed in drawing of wills and matters of that kind. 
Respected and beloved by all, he filled a large space 
in the public estimation His first wife was Agnes 

( ) who died in 1784 leaving a numerous 

family. After her death, he married the widow 
Margaret Anderson. This lady, previous to her mar- 
riage to Anderson was the widow ofjohn Kately, 
who lived on lot 54, and who died about 1752 or 3. 
She was the mother of the somewhat famous Han- 
nah Katelv, whose custom it was, to attend town 



74 

meetings, and if affairs were not conducted as she 
thought proper, or seemed to encroach upon her 
rights; she was wont to protest against the action of the 
town, and have it placed on record; and some of 
the protests of Hannah Kately, the original "woman's 
righter" of Colrain, may be found in the old record 
book to-day. James Stewart, Jr. died in 1809, at the 
ripe old age of four score. His father James, senior, 
died in 1773, aged 93. 

Ensign Hugh Henry, was another of the veterans 
of his time. He came from Stowe, Mass., about 
1740, settling on lot 34, and built his first log 
house a few rods southwest of where the south 
school house now stands, just at the east side of the 
line of the old road. In this house the first town 
meeting was held, of which he was moderator, and 
for several years he was selectman and treasurer of 
the town. His death occurred in 1746, leaving a 
wife and certainly five children, all young; the young- 
est being but four years of age. He was great 
grandfather of Mr. Charles Henry of Greenfield, and 
of others of the name living in Heath. In 1754, his 
heirs sold lots 34 and 35, to William Miller, and the 
last named lot has remained in the possession of 
Miller's descendants ever since. 

John Henry (brother of Hugh) settled a short dis- 
tance north of Samuel C. Avery's, on the farm after- 
ward owned and occupied by James McCullock. His 
wife was Mary McCrellis, sister of Martha, the wife 
of Hugh Morrison. He died about 1750, leaving five 
children. William, his oldest son removed about 1772 
to Bennington, Vt. where some of his descendants, 
now live; others of them reside in Michigan; the wife 



75 

of Governor Alger, at the present time Governor of 
that state, being a great grand-daughter of William 
Henry. James and John, next younger, removed 
to Cambridge, N. Y. and their descendants are 
numerous in that vicinity ; and Andrew, .the young- 
est son settled In Leyden . 

The wife of John Henry was a remarkable woman, 
and had a most remarkable career. In her early life 
in Ireland, she married ( — ) Foster, by whom she 
had one child, a daughter, whom she named 
Margaret. Being left a widow she than married 
( — ) Workman, by whom she had a son, John. 
Again left a widow, she emigrated with her two child- 
ren to America, where she married Henry, by whom 
as I have said, she had five children. After his 
death she became the wife of Richard Ellis, who 
lived at one time on lot No. lo, and who afterward 
removed, I think to Ashfield. She outlived her fourth 
husband, spending her last days with her son Andrew 
Henry, in Leyden, and died there May ii, 1802, in 
the ninety-seventh year of her age. Her son John 
Workman, married Phoebe Stewart, sister of James 
Stewart, Jr., and settled on the farm where Mr. Ariel 
Hinsdale now lives. 

Two families by the name of McCrellis, lived in 
town, back in the early times; John and William. 
The "McCrellis family records" say they were brothers, 
but I am confident they were not. 

John McCrellis (older brother of Martha and Mary^ 
mentioned above) settled on the Handy place and 
had a family of four children; dying May 3, 1759, 
^ged 59. His oldest son, John Jr., married Hannah 



76 

McConkey of Pelham. He fell overboard from- a. 
boat and was drowned while shad fishing in Connect- 
icut river in May, 1765, being only 25 years old^ 
leaving, three young children; of whom Mary, the 
youngest, married John Handy. Another son, Wil- 
liam, (or Deacon "William as he was known,) lived at 
one time, I think, on lot No. i of the third division^ 
He had numerous children, and his oldest daughter,, 
Jane, became the wife of Dr. Samuel Ross. 

Esther, daughter of John McCrellis senior, married 
Archibald Pennill, and afterward Andrew Lucas as I 
have mentioned on a previous page. Another 
daughter, Margaret, married Ebenezer Wells, of 
Greenfield. Of her children, John removed to Rowe; 
Daniel settled in Greenfield, and was father of Judge 
Daniel Wells, and grandfather of Colonel Geo. D^ 
Wells; the gallant Commander of the 34th Massachu- 
setts Regiment, and who lost his life on one of the 
battle fields of the Rebellion. Samuel, who also settled 
in Greenfield on the homestead, and was father of 
Ralph Wells, and grandfather of Mrs. Conant of 
this town; who by a somewhat remarkable coinci- 
dence, now resides on the same farm where her great 
great grandfather, John Mc Crellis first settled. 

Let me here add a word regarding Hannah Mc- 
Conkey, the wife of John McCrellis Jr. After his 
death she married in 1768, Archibald Thomas of 
Rowe, and had nine children. Of them, Elizabeth, 
the eldest was grandmother of the wife of Major 
S. H. Reed, afterward Sheriff of this County. 
Mrs. Thomas, for years practiced medicine in Rowe, 
and was probably the first woman physician in that 
town. She died September 21st, 1825, aged 83 years. 



77 

William McCrellis, the progenitor of the other 
branch of the family in this town, was a nephew of 
John, senior. He came from the north of Ireland, 
and after arriving in this country stopped for some 
time at Noddles Island, near Boston. He probably 
came to Colrain in 1749, as under date of August 15, 
of that year he bought lots 48 and 49, the farm on 
which the Coombs Brothers now live. His first wife 
was Jane or Jannet McClure, who died March 13, 1763. 
His second wife was Jemima Mehany, by whom he 
had three children. Martha, who died unmarried; 
Elizabeth, who became the mother of William and 
Jonathan Coombs, also of Mrs. Flagg, Mrs. Hillman 
and Mrs. Dexter Wilson, now deceased; and William 
Jr. who had a family of ten children. William 
McCrellis died in this town November 3, 1781, aged 
74- 

Undoubtedly the first physician that ever practiced 
in this town was Dr. Hugh Bolton; who came here 
in 1 74 1, buying lots 18 and 19 in first range, on one 
of which he settled. He was born and educated in 
England, where he studied medicine, and had built 
up a large practice. His decision to emigrate to 
America was somewhat suddenly taken, and the causes 
which induced his coming are quite interesting. 

Dr. Bolton was a dissenter, and refused to pay 
tithes ; an officer went to take his property, he resist- 
ed, a tight ensued and the officer was severly punish, 
ed. In due time two constables were sent to arrest 
him; he saw them coming, and as they came in at 
one door, he, without waiting to even get his hat, 
went out at another. This was near evening. The 
officers, seeing him leave without a hat, did not 



78 

pursue him, believing that he would surely return. 
But return he never did; he went to the nearest sea- 
port, where he found a vessel ready to sail, on which 
he took passage and in due time arrived safely in 
America. This was in the year 1730, or thereabout. 
He settled first in Londonderry, N. H. where 
he bought land of Hugh Morrison in 1733- 
He afterward lived in Peterboro, N. H. coming 
to Colrain, as I have said, in 174 1. He married Eliza- 
beth Patterson: — her family afterward came to 
America, settled in Baltimore, and one of the daughters 
became the wife of Jerome Bonaparte. Mrs.. 
Bolton was drowned in Deerfield River, while 
attempting to cross on the ice, January 30thy 1755. Dr. 
Bolton died in this town June 8th, 1772, aged 85 years. 
Their children were Hugh Bolton Jr., Matthew, John 
and Nancy, also I think, one other son, Joseph, who 
died young. Hugh Jr. married Martha Morrison, as I 
have previously stated, and had six children. He 
enlisted in his Majesty's military service, and was 
killed in the French and Indian war. Matthew, the 
second son, who was also a physician, married Han- 
nah McClanathan of Pelham. She died December 
28, 1 761, and he married again but the name of 
his second wife I am unable to state. He had five 
children, all from the second marriage, three sons, 
only, living to the age of maturity. Of these Mathew 
Jr. married Electa Martindale of Greenfield, and set- 
tled in Heath; they had a family of , I think, nine chil- 
dren. Samuel, another son, married Jane, daughter 
of Colonel Hugh McClellan, and settled in Rowe; 
they had seven children, of whom Mrs. Mary Carley 
of Jacksonville, Vt. and Jane, the wife of Alcanda 
Preston of Halifax, Vt. are still living. Thomas, the 



79 

youngest, son of Matthew Bolton, married Fanny 
Cuthbert (I think) and settled in this town. They 
had six children. Matthew Bolton practiced medi- 
cine here, in connection with his father, until the time 
■of his death; he outlived his father, only about two 
3'ears, dying June 5^ 1774, aged 43 years. 

John Bolton, youngest son of Dr. Hugh, was a re- 
markable man, and his staunch patriotism should en- 
title his memory to be greatly venerated by the in- 
habitants of this town, many of whom are descended 
from him. His wife was Martha, daughter of Deacon 
Thomas McGee; by whom he had ten children. Of 
these, Elizabeth married Abraham Pennill, set- 
tled in Warren, Herkimer county, New York, and 
was the mother of Rebecca, wife of Captain John 
Wilson of this town. Rachael married Robert Law- 
son McClellan, son of Rev. Daniel McClellan, whom 
I have mentioned, and was the mother of six chil- 
dren ; of whom, Jane married Rev. Jonathan McGee. 
and Caroline married Baxter Bardwell of this town, 
and still resides here. 

Nancy, fifth child of John Bolton, married Robert, 
son of Robert and Margaret (McClellan) Miller. 
They had ten children, only two of whom, George 
Washington Miller of Colrain, and Joseph Warren 
Miller of Greenfield, Mass. are now living;* though 
her descendants of later generations are very numer- 

*Hugh Bolton Miller of this family ; descendant and namesake of 
Dr. Hugh Bolton ; died in Colrain August i. 1885 He was em- 

inently qualified to have been the historian of the town ; and among 
his papers will be found many valuable for historical, and geneological 
reference. I am indebted to him for the facts relating to the 
Bolton family, as well as other valuable information, all of which I 
desire at this time to gratefully acknowledge. c. H. m. 



80 

ous in this town and vicinity. John Bolton was one 
of the most prominent military men of this town ; 
he was in the last French and Indian war, belonging 
to the famous company known as the "Rodgers Ran- 
gers," and was in the battle of Quebec under General 
Wolfe, though at the time he was but about nineteen 
years old. At the breaking out of the Revolutionary 
war, he with others raised a company of artificers, of 
which he was Lieutenant; John Wood being Captain. 
This company was in 1777 stationed at West Point. 
Captain Wood soon after received his discharge, and 
the command devolved upon Bolton, who was one of 
the bravest officers, as well as the best practical me- 
chanic in this part of the colony. He was chief en- 
gineer in the construction department at West Point, 
and was instrumental in putting the heavy chain 
across the Hudson river at that place, to prevent the 
passage of British vessels up the river. 

About 1779, his men became discouraged; they 
were badly clothed and fed, had received no pay for 
a long period, and were almost in a state of mutiny. 
Bolton was engaged with his whole soul in the cause 
of his country. He left the camp on a furlough, and 
came to Colrain, where he had a valuable property. 
He raised, by pledging his property, and otherwise, 
all the money he could; returned to West Point, and 
paid his men as far as it would go. He, with his 
company remained at that place till the close of the 
war; they being Massachusetts men were dis- 
charged, but not paid, and were compelled "to work 
their way home" as best they could; enduring more 
from hunger and exposure, than they had for the 
same length of time, during the whole period of the 
war. 



SI 

After a few years, Bolton gathered together the 
little fragments of his property, and emigrated to the 
state of New York, where he lived with some of his 
children. . He was always inclined to look upon the 
bright side of things, until old age began to come on, 
which, with poverty, caused him to become pensive 
and somewhat moody, some years before his death ; 
which occurred at Warren, Herkimer County, N. Y. 
in the ye*ar 1807, at the age of sixty-seven years. 

Did time permit, I would speak of Deacon Thomas 
Morris, who settled where Mr. Joel Cone now lives, 
residing there until his death in 1781. Of Deacon 
Alexander Harroun, and his son, and grandson 
David; all men of note in their time. They came 
from Hatfield to this town, settling on what is now 
the Roberts farm, in the fourth range, in 1741, 
where the family resided till about the commencement 
of the present century, when they removed to Corfu, 
or Holland purchase, as it was then called, in western 
New York state, where many descendants of the 
family now reside. It was David Harroun, grandson 
of Deacon Alexander, who was at Springfield in the 
battle with the "Shayites". He was in Captain William 
Stevens' company of artillery, and when by accident 
the swab of one of the guns was blown away by a 
premature discharge; he thrust in his long brawny 
arm, and with his hand enclosed in a thick home- 
made yarn mitten, he swabbed out the gun, 

William Miller, from Stowe, Mass., bought of 
Hugh Morrison, in August 1746, one hundred acres 
of land, "near where the east and west branches 01 
North River unite"; now owned by Mr. A. A. Smith. 
The high water having made it necessary for him to 
remove his family from his house in a boat, during 



82 

three successive seasons; he decided to seek a new 
location; and in 1754, he removed to higher land, 
buying out the heirs of Hugh Henry as I have prev- 
iously stated. From him have descended the various 
families of Millers who have since been so prominent- 
ly connected with the affairs of the town. 

Hezekiah Smith, of Woodstock, Ct., bought of Josh- 
ua Wells, of Greenfield, what was known as the Wells 
tract, where his great great grandson Charles Smith, 
now lives; the deed being dated December 6th, 1764, 
and the consideration being 93 pounds, 6 shillings and 
8 pence. He at once became prominent in town 
affairs, was delegate to the Provincial Congress and 
also to the Convention which framed the Constitution 
of this state; and represented the town in many other 
important matters. His wife was Eunice Morris, 
daughter of Deacon Thomas Morris, and sister of 
Jane, the wife of Deacon Hugh Riddle, of whom I 
have spoken. His sons, Oren, Nathaniel, Hezekiah, 
Rominor, David and Calvin, all grew to manhood, 
and well sustained the prominence to which they 
succeeded, in public affairs. 

Deacon James Wilson, (weaver) and his wife Mar- 
garet McGee, (sister of Deacon Thomas McGee), 
came to this town, from Chester V. H. He bought 
land, which his descendant Mr. S. N. Wilson now 
owns, of Samuel and Benjamin Munn, June 29, 1752. 
This farm was situated in Deerfield pasture; now 
Shelburne. Being- a Presbvterian, and otherwise 
strongly attached to the church in this town; he 
bought, about three years later, of William McCrellis, 
three fourths of an acre of land in Colrain , for a house lot; 
and so became a resident of the town. Two of his 
sons, who at the time were quite well grown youths, 



are said to have clisa]:)peare(l from the sugar camp 
during the latter part of the Indian war, and were 
supposed to have been captured ; though what fate 
befell them, whether they were killed or carried into 
captivity; was never discovered, as I am aware. Of 
his remaining sons; Jonathan the oldest, succeeded to 
his father's estate in 1765; Robert settled where Mr 
Isaac T. Fisk now lives; Samuel where Robert Cone 
now lives, both in Shelburne; and David, about this 
time settled on Christian Hill, on land of the second 
division. David Wilson was very active in town 
atfairs 100 years ago, and he is well remembered bv 
many of you, present here; for before me are many of 
his descendants. His memory I have been taught 
greatly to revere, as he was my great grandfather. 
Sarah, the only daughter of his family that grew to 
womanhood, became the wife of Colonel Hugh 
McClellan, and so my great grandmother; so that as a 
Wilson, I may be said to be "bred in and in." 

As illustrating these matters, I will speak of but 
one other, and that Jane Henr}^ sister of Hugh and 
John Henry, — a brave, resolute, red haired woman, 
who came from the north of Ireland, with her husband 
Michael McClellan, about 1749. Her oldest daugh- 
ter, Jeanette, had married Joseph Thompson in the 
old countr)', and they prol^ably came over in the same 
ship as did her parents. In 1768, Joseph Thompson 
settled on lot 56, in the second division, where his 
descendant, Milo Thompson, now lives. Ann, another 
daughter of Michael and Jane (Henry) McClellan, 
married John Stewart, of whom I have spoken, and 
and whose descendants are numerously represented 
here. Still another daughter, Margaret, married 
Robert, son of William Miller; "from whom have de- 



84 

scended nearly all the Millers. Bear in mind that by 
inter-marriage, these lines have crossed each other 
many, many times since; and when I add, that David 
Wilson, Jonathan McGee and Nathaniel, David and 
Calvin Smith, married five of the daughters of Jeanette 
and Joseph Thompson; you will, upon reflection, begin 
to get some idea of this "tangle" in the lineage. 

And thus ; Comrades of the Grand Army, and 
friends; grateful for your kind and patient attention, 
and fully conscious that my words have done but ill 
justice to the theme; thus must I close the story of 
our predecessors in this community. Grand, noble, 
and true men, were they. Not great perhaps, as the 
world judges at present; hut great in courage, great in 
piety and faich, and great in all that is expressed by a 
noble manhood. In all these respects, they were giants 
in their time, and wrought as such. And during all 
time, — while the grass shall spring green from the low 
mounds beneath which they sleep; the story of their 
achievements shall be delightful to peruse. The 
work which your patriotic endeavor accomplished, 
was but the complement of what they had performed. 
With hands few and weak in comparison, they 
struggled heroically, to conquer an eternal independ- 
ence for this land of ours, and thus humbled the pride 
of the proudest nation the sun had, or has ever shined 
upon. Yours was the opportunity, to establish by 
your valor, the truth ; that here, in this land which 
their devotion had founded, — liberty shall live eternal. 
Among your noble fraternity, — of the sons who were 
worthy of their sires ; let the memory of their heroism 
never be forgotten. Cherish their names, their deeds, 
their virtues ; nor doubt that in the far vista of the 
years, — the grateful generations shall inscribe like 



85 

honor to your deeds ; and that which they have suf- 
fered, and that which you have achieved, shall be, 
alike, held in everlasting remembrance. 






,r yl 



KRRATA. 

Page lo, line 2, for Housatonuck. read Pontoosuc. 

" 13, '' II, for bare, read bear. 

'• 22, " 8, for Harrmoun, read Harroun. 

•' 24, " 12, for pretentions, read pretentious. _ 

" 25, lines 22 and 25, for Isreal, read Israel. 

'' 38, line 29, In, — is superfluous. 

" 39, " 19, for vigorus. read vigorous. 

" 40. " 31, for improvments, read improvements. 

" 53, " 28, for this, read the. 

" 55 1 " ^' f'°^ denoument, read denouement. 

" 64, " II, for Gordon, read Gurdon. 

'' 67, Hues 4 and 15, for Mathew, read Matthew. 

" 78, line 27, for Mathew, read Matthew. 

" 79 '' 16, for Rachael, read Rachel. 

In behalf of the numerous oihep errors, of typography as well as 
punctuation ; I bespeak a charitable criticism. 



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